Celtics-Suns Player Grades: Jaylen Brown Dominates 4th Quarter, C's Rally Past Suns

BOSTON — The Celtics got a little sloppy after grabbing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Jaylen Brown had a monster finish to a monster game, leading Boston past Phoenix 120-112.

Box Score

Game Flow

The teams traded runs to start the quarter, with Phoenix starting strong, Boston answering, the Suns punching back, and then Boston making it a back-and-forth finish. Jaylen Brown took 10 free throws in the quarter and scored 11 points, but the Celtics defense gave up 32 points to go into the second quarter down one.

Derrick White got blistering hot to start the quarter, scoring 13 of Boston’s first 16 points. Boston was on fire from three, hitting eight of their first nine to build a nine-point lead. Devin Booker got going late in the quarter, though, to cut into Boston’s cushion and cut it to four at halftime.

Booker kept the Suns close in the third by scoring 16 of Phoenix’s 25 points. The Celtics were able to hold on and add a point to their lead, thanks to some strong drives by Jayson Tatum, and 11 combined points off the bench from Payton Pritchard and Baylor Scheierman.

The Celtics got the lead to a game-high 10 in the couple of minutes Booker went to the bench to start the fourth, but Phoenix went on a 21-8 run to take a four-point lead. Brown continued his parade at the line, but he also made a couple of great defensive plays and had a putback that gave Boston the lead again with just over two minutes to play. Ultimately, it was a 14-2 run for Boston over the final 4:46.

Here are five reasons they won the game

Jaylen Brown lived at the line

Almost half of Brown’s 41 points came at the line where he was 19-21. I’m calling the 41 points on 21 free throw attempts the “half-Bam,” a line people are going to get sick of because I’m using it everywhere tonight.

It’s the seventh-most free throws in a single game this season, and he’s one of 11 guys to take 20 or more (Luka Doncic did it twice).

The defense clamped down late

Boston not only held the Suns to two points over the last 4:46 of the game, they were 0-6 from the field and had zero offensive rebounds. Boston forced tough shots, cleared the glass, got one steal, and forced a 24-second violation. The clutch defense was incredible.

They hit a lot of threes

The Celtics were +12 from the three-point line in an eight-point win. That's huge, and it carried them late in the game when they went cold. Boston was 1-6 from three in the fourth, but their advantage was big enough where it was pretty much the difference in a back-and-forth game.

They moved the ball well

They had 31 assists on 39 made baskets. But assists don’t always tell the whole story. They are seeing the floor incredibly well, and aside from a couple of tough shots from guys who can make tough shots, the Celtics made every right read.

“I thought it was a great balance of our pace in transition, our attacking, our dribble-drive stuff was great, our 2-on-1 reads for each other was great,” Joe Mazzulla said. “At the end of day, we've just got to continue to play the right way, give the game what it needs, play as a team.”

Payton Pritchard woke up

Derrick White and Jayson Tatum each scored 21, but Pritchard’s 19 was really important, especially for a guy who has been struggling lately.

Player Grades

Jaylen Brown: A+ (41 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists)

That fourth quarter pumped up his grade in a big way. I love the way he’s been seeing the floor lately, too. He put up a couple of bad shots in the fourth, which he made up for defensively.

It was also really interesting to see Jayson Tatum becoming a floor-spacer and standing in the corner for a lot of that fourth quarter. I’m sure some of it was because he’s not really at takeover mode yet, but it’s also a recognition that Brown had it working and that was the best option.

Derrick White: A- (21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists)

He did most of his damage (19 points) in the first half, when he was 5-9 from three. Once again, the catch-and-shoot shots have been huge for him, and I think when the season ends, we’ll see a huge efficiency turnaround for him after Tatum’s return.

Jayson Tatum: A- (21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists)

His drives look good, and his shot might be coming around every so slowly. One thing that's missing from his game, however, is free throw attempts. When Tatum drops a 10 FTA game at some point, we’ll know he’s back.

Payton Pritchard: A (19 points, 4 rebounds 6 assists)

He’s been struggling lately, so it’s good to see him get going, especially from three, where he was 5-9. He also drew the Devin Booker defensive assignment later in the game.

“I thought he was physical at the point of attack,” Mazzulla said. “Didn't give up any [screen] rejects. Booker is always looking for rejects. Did a great job forcing him into the screen. Did a great job getting back to front so that we could keep it 5-on-5 even though we were up a little bit more. So he's done a great job - everyone talks about his offense, but I think he's done a great job taking on defending shooters and defending good players at the end of games.”

Baylor Scheierman: B+ (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)

A nice boost off the bench, defending and rebounding well in 26 minutes, and not missing any of the shots he took (3-3 overall, 2-2 3pt).

Neemias Queta: B (5 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists)

He made some great passes, even though he looked to have some trouble with Phoenix’s speed.

Sam Hauser: C (2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists)

His grade was lower, but he ended up a +6 in 4:18 of fourth quarter play. He filled in for Derrick White, who was in foul trouble, and played solid defense. Still, 1-3 shooting (0-2 3pt) isn’t enough.

Luka Garza: C- (3 points, 3 rebounds)

Hugo Gonzalez: C- (0 points, 1 rebound)