Boston Celtics Hardwood News: 3-Point Buzzer-Beater Stuns the Green
The luck of the Irish was not at work Sunday night in Phoenix as an undermanned Boston Celtics team lost in unbelievable fashion to the Suns.
Following an impressive win in Los Angeles, the Boston Celtics could not continue the momentum against the lowly Phoenix Suns Sunday night in a 109-106 loss in the final seconds.
Entering the game without Al Horford and Avery Bradley, Boston still should’ve handled one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Instead, the Suns played the Celtics tough and ultimately produced the best win of their season in an unbelievable last few seconds of the game.
Down 106-104, Phoenix guard Eric Bledsoe tied the game on a strong drive to the hoop. The Suns then stole the inbounds pass with just four seconds remaining that allowed rookie Tyler Ulis to hit a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to hand the Celtics their most stunning loss of the season.
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Isaiah Thomas, who lost the inbounds pass, led the team with 35 points. Following the game, the All-Star point guard reflected on the game’s crazy ending.
"“He got a hand on it,” Thomas said, via Boston.com. “I thought Jae would get it out quicker than he would. I don’t know if he was looking to see if we had a timeout or I don’t know what he was thinking to do.”"
Whatever the thinking was that last few seconds of the game, the Boston Celtics will hopefully learn from the loss.
Notes & quotes
Who stepped up: With Bradley and Horford sidelined, rookie Jaylen Brown continued to show just why the Celtics selected him with the No. 2 pick overall. He scored 16 points in the loss.
Jae Crowder also stepped up with 16 pounds and was big on the glass with 10 rebounds. Point guard Terry Rozier stepped up off the bench, adding 14 points as the team dropped to 40-23 on the season.
Brad Stevens on defensive collapse at the end of the game via Celtics.com:
"“You want to keep the ball in front but you certainly don’t want to give a 3. So that’s a tough thing, but at the end of the day, you don’t want him to score that quick.”"
Next: Isaiah Thomas Holds No Grudge Against Phoenix Suns
The Boston Celtics will next travel back to Los Angeles to battle the Clippers Monday night.