Aron Baynes made his first return to Boston to play the Celtics with the Phoenix Suns and came away with a win.
His former team started slow yet again in the absence of starters Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown, who sat with knee soreness and a thumb sprain respectively.
In the absence of their scoring prowess, Boston reverted to their worst selves once again — to predictable result.
Falling behind early in the first, the team never quite got back in the hunt even they they got close several times and nearly managed to come back in a furious late push.
But, poor shooting from forward Gordon Hayward (8-of-20 overall and 1-of-3 from deep) would doom the Celtics to another loss despite a career-high 37 points and franchise-record 11 3-pointers from teammate Marcus Smart.
The Celtics' all-time leader in made 3-pointers in a single game with 11:
Marcus Smart đâď¸ pic.twitter.com/dxcqZibTrE
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 19, 2020
The Texan couldn’t push Boston over the edge even with Hayward’s 22 points, 7 rebounds and as many assists and swingman Jayson Tatum’s 26 points and 10 boards, and for the second night and third game in a row, the team finds itself on the losing side of the box score.
The Suns were led by 39 points, 10 boards and 9 assists from guard Devin Booker, 26 points and 15 rebounds from center Deandre Ayton, and 26 more from guard Mikal Bridges.
Baynes had himself a bit of a stinker as well in his return, putting up just 3 points, 2 boards and an assist in 12 minutes of playing time.
The Celtics now turn to their Monday showdown with longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers, who they will face at TD Garden on Monday, January 20th at 7:30pm.
With some luck, both Brown and Walker will be available, and the way this team has played lately they’ll need both to have any chance of winning at all.
[lawrence-related id=27692,27568,27638]