Suns down Celtics
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Markieff Morris scored 18 points to lead six Phoenix players in double figures, as the Suns took a 100-94 decision from the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Goran Dragic and Gerald Green scored 17 points apiece, with the former dishing out six assists for the Suns. Channing Frye had 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, while Marcus Morris and P.J. Tucker added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Suns have won two straight since the All-Star break after a 112-107 overtime win at Denver on Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Coming off the back-to-back we were a little tired, a little exhausted," Frye admitted. "I think we had some mental breakdowns but other than that I think we just battle and grind it out."
Rajon Rondo deposited an 18-point, 10-assist double-double, while Brandon Bass contributed 18 points and Jeff Green had 17 points for Boston, which has dropped three of its last four games.
Phoenix ended the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 29-21 lead into the second, as Tucker drove the lane for a layup to close the scoring in the opening stanza.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Markieff Morris then made two buckets around a Leandro Barbosa free throw to push Phoenix's lead to 34-23 early in the second quarter.
A 9-2 Boston run late in the quarter tied the game at 50-apiece. Dragic banked one in with 20.9 seconds left to help the Suns to a 52-50 lead at the break.
Boston scored 18 points in the first half off of 14 Phoenix turnovers. The Celtics committed eight turnovers in the half, but the Suns received just two points from the giveaways.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bass scored six straight points to open the third quarter and ignite a 16-4 run as Boston grabbed a 10-point lead.
Phoenix ended the final 3 1/2 minutes of the frame on a 15-1 run, with Marcus Morris nailing a triple after Frye's 3 for a 76-71 lead heading into the fourth.
Marcus Morris continued his hot shooting with five straight points to start the fourth quarter and push the Suns advantage to double digits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kelly Olynyk knocked down a trey to cut the deficit to 88-86 with just under four minutes remaining. That is as close as the Celtics would come, though, as Markieff Morris followed with a pair of free throws and Frye later hit a 3- pointer to push the lead to seven.
The Celtics did, however, cut the deficit to three a couple of times in the closing seconds, but the Suns held them off from the free throw line to secure the win.
"We actually I thought, did a pretty good job at times of being balanced," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "But we just had a couple of errors, including at the end of the game and you can't make errors against them because they are coming and they are coming fast and hard."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Tucker was fined $5,000 prior to the game for violating the league's anti- flopping rule ... The Suns' 32-21 start is the best start through 52 games since the 2007-08 season ... Boston fell to 4-13 against the Western Conference ... Phoenix shot 11-for-28 from beyond the arc, while Boston made 5-of-17 attempts from deep ... The Suns committed 18 turnovers and the Celtics turned the ball over 14 times ... Each team had 46 rebounds.