Jason Richardson hit 6-of-7 from three-point
range en route to a 34-point, 10-rebound night, helping the Suns hand the
Celtics their first loss of the season, a 110-103 decision at TD Garden.
Steve Nash chipped in his usual 16-point, 12-assist effort for Phoenix, which
rebounded from its only loss this season, a 122-100 loss to Orlando on
Wednesday. Amare Stoudemire ended with 22 points and seven boards, while Grant
Hill and Jared Dudley contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.
Kevin Garnett led the way for Boston, finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds
and four assists in the team's first setback in seven games this year. Ray
Allen and Paul Pierce each added 16 points, with Pierce shooting just 5-of-15
from the field.
Rajon Rondo doled out 11 assists to go with 14 points, and Kendrick Perkins
donated 12 points and seven caroms in defeat.
The difference of the game was three-point shooting, as Phoenix shot 13-of-24
from downtown compared to Boston's 4-for-18 effort.
Early in the fourth, Richardson hit his sixth three of the game and followed
that with a conventional three-point play from the left baseline on the next
possession, giving the Suns a 93-85 lead.
A Channing Frye free throw and Dudley bucket capped the 9-0 run, though Boston
got the crowd back into the game with seven straight, the last bucket an Allen
three-ball for a 96-92 game with 5 1/2 minutes left.
The teams traded points and it stayed a four-point game after Stoudemire
blocked a Rondo layup near the two-minute mark.
Nash and Rasheed Wallace traded missed three-point tries, but the two-time MVP
was true from behind the arc with a hand in his face with 50.9 ticks left.
Pierce was fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the line, and Rondo made a layup after a
Nash turnover to give Boston a chance, but Phoenix iced the game at the foul
line to seal the impressive road win.
Phoenix led 29-27 after the first and headed to the locker room ahead, 57-51.
The visitors continued to play frontrunner in the third but only took a two-
point lead, 85-83, into the final stanza.
Game Notes
Boston was trying to start the season with seven straight wins for the second
time in three years...The Celtics had won nine straight home games in the
regular season dating back to last March...Suns guard Leandro Barbosa missed
his third straight game with a wrist injury...Boston took both meetings with
Phoenix a year ago and had won three straight in the series...Wallace ended
with eight points and missed all six of his three-point tries for Boston.
©2009 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
