Celtics smash NBA 3-point record en route to blowout win over Suns

Before this season no club in NBA history had made more -pointers than Stephen Curry Klay Thompson and the - Golden State Warriors The Mazzulla Ball Celtics broke that record Friday night with five games to spare Payton Pritchard s pull-up three at the mark of the second quarter made Boston the all-time -point kings of the NBA The Celtics proceeded to drain threes in total an unremarkable number by their standards as they trucked the Phoenix Suns - at TD Garden The downfall of the Warriors mark had seemed inevitable ever since the Celtics attempted threes and made in their season opener The C s rank first in the league in -point attempts more than per competition and last in -point attempts just as they did during their run to an NBA title last season The tournament s headliner however was Jaylen Brown who scored points on -of- shooting and added five rebounds as he played through what he s called a painful knee injury Jayson Tatum went -for- from -point range but -for- from inside the arc to finish with points eight rebounds assists one steal and one block Kristaps Porzingis had points four rebounds and a block before exiting the court bloodied but radiating after taking an elbow to the face from Phoenix forward Cody Martin early in the fourth quarter Suns point guard Devin Booker scored a game-high points in a losing effort Bradley Beal managed just one point on -for- shooting after missing the previous eight games with a hamstring injury and the third member of Phoenix s ill-fated Big Three Kevin Durant sat out with an injured ankle The Celtics who had a nine-game win streak snapped Wednesday in a loss to Miami have five regular-season games remaining They ll host old friends Marcus Smart Malcolm Brogdon and the last-place Washington Wizards on Sunday Brown the only participant listed on Boston s pregame injury document came out firing with points in the first six minutes He hit three of his first four shots and two of his first three -pointers including one of the unlikeliest makes of this Celtics season After Bradley Beal poked the ball away from Brown and sent it bouncing toward the Boston basket Brown recovered possession pulled up to beat the shot clock and buried a high-arcing one-footed jumper from just inside halfcourt During that productive start Brown moved past Antoine Walker and into th place on the Celtics all-time scoring list Brown points Porzingis and Tatum all reached double figures before halftime as the Celtics built a -point first-half lead over a Suns unit they d routed in Phoenix nine days earlier During that first half Boston shot the ball well from deep -for- while also frequently outmaneuvering and overpowering the Suns inside The Celtics were -for- on first-half shots inside the restricted area including muscular layups by Brown and Tatum and -for- in the paint Their favorite target rookie center Oso Ighodaro who was on the wrong end of several profitable Celtics drives Boston led - at the half Starting guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White opened the third quarter with their first points of the night two free throws and a -pointer respectively and the Suns never threatened A scary moment occurred early in the fourth when Porzingis and Martin collided in midair beneath the Phoenix basket Porzingis remained down on the floor for several moments and when he stood up blood was streaming from the bridge of his nose The knock to the face evidently didn t faze the fan-favorite big man however He sported a wide smile as he walked back down the court and danced a quick jig in front of the Boston bench before striding arms extended upward down the tunnel The Celtics later informed Porzingis was questionable to return with Cut to Nose Requiring Stitches but with Boston up big he unsurprisingly did not reenter the contest With their entire roster available for the first time since Feb Friday s match offered a preview of what the Celtics postseason rotation should look like Pritchard Al Horford Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet were the only Boston backups who saw meaningful action in the win with the rest including just now impressive rookie Baylor Scheierman not leaving to the bench until garbage time The four core reserves combined for points on -of- shooting Kornet scored points in his fifth double-digit scoring effort in his last six games headlined by his fourth-quarter layup off a slick over-the-shoulder assist from Brown