The Boston Celtics were determined to do a better job on defense in their second scrimmage of the Disney restart than they did in the first, and for a few moments, they were.
But sloppy basketball on both ends of the court soon started to creep back into the Celtics’ play against the Phoenix Suns, with Boston looking only a little more connected than they did against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Friday’s exhibition loss.
Thankfully for the Celtics, the Suns looked a little worse.
The second friendly contest of Boston’s Disney restart did see the Celtics jump out to a 7 – 0 lead on the strength of shooting guard Jaylen Brown’s play.
spin cycle 🌀 pic.twitter.com/Ru7Pb2g5wl
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 26, 2020
But then the newfound defensive disciplined lapsed again, and the Suns answered with a 13 – 2 run, center Enes Kanter also looking like he came ready to play on both ends.
All-Star guard Jayson Tatum started to heat up, hitting a stepback trey to give Boston a 28 – 27 lead with 1:30 left in the first frame, which would end with the Celtics up 32 – 29.
Phoenix picked up the intensity considerably in the second quarter, and Boston answered back for some of the most high-level basketball seen yet from either team in their scrimmage games.
Tatum would tie things up at 36 with another 3-pointer with 10 minutes to play in the half, both teams trading baskets until Brown tied it up again at 46 at the five-minute mark.
straight to the basket pic.twitter.com/TI5Tlgjgqa
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 26, 2020
The Georgian wing would lead all scorers going into the half with 18 points while shooting 60 % from deep, the Celtics holding a 63-59 lead at the half.
Starting point guard Kemba Walker had a bit of a rough time shooting with 2 of 6 attempts connecting for six points in the first half, but looked generally solid otherwise.
The second half began with a jumper for Hayward to put Boston up 65-59, but Phoenix battled back, tying the game at 65 off a Cam Johnson flush.
The Suns kept their foot on the gas, taking a four-point lead with a Deandre Ayton flush with seven left in the frame, but the Celtics answered back with offense from Hayward, Tatum and guard Marcus Smart.
Romeo Langford's defense has picked up right where it left off. Good job fighting through a screen here to contest the shot. He's a +11 in five minutes. pic.twitter.com/EKwp1A6E0a
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) July 26, 2020
Kanter in particular helped Boston start to pull away, taking an 88-79 lead with just over two minutes left in the frame.
The Celtics kept up the pressure, with reserve guard Brad Wanamaker getting hot and rookie Romeo Langford nailing a rare 3-pointer to put the team up 99 – 82 with just over 10 minutes to go.
Boston’s second unit kept the defensive pressure on and Langford his offense cooking to put Boston up 113 – 97 with three and a half minutes left in the game.
The Suns showed signs of life, but the Celtics would put them away with a renewed focus on defense and an all-around excellent showing by the team’s bench, winning 117-103.
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