NBA: Jaylen Brown's 41-point effort pushes Celtics past Suns

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown exploded for 41 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to lead the Celtics to a 120-112 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Brown was exceptional from the free-throw line, making 19 of 21 attempts—both career-best figures. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White each added 21 points for Boston, while Payton Pritchard contributed 19. White and Pritchard were sharp from beyond the arc, each hitting five 3-pointers.

The Suns held a 110-106 lead with 4:46 remaining but failed to score another field goal. Brown’s jumper capped an 8-0 run that put Boston ahead 116-111 with one minute to play. Overall, the Celtics shot 42.5% from 3-point range, hitting 17 of 40 attempts.

For Phoenix, Devin Booker led the charge with 40 points, while Jalen Green added 21. The Suns came out strong, scoring the first eight points of the game. However, a 10-0 run gave Boston a 23-20 lead. Phoenix made six of 12 3-point attempts in the first quarter and led 32-31 at the end of the opening period.

Boston opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to go up 40-32 and carried a 65-61 lead into halftime, highlighted by five consecutive successful 3-pointers. Brown, White, and Booker each had 19 points in the first half.

In the third quarter, an 8-0 run extended Boston’s lead to 78-69 with 8:51 remaining. Phoenix closed the gap to two, but Pritchard’s 3-pointer at the end of the quarter put the Celtics ahead 91-86. Booker had tallied 35 points through three quarters.

Early in the fourth, Pritchard hit another 3-pointer to make it 96-86. The Suns fought back, narrowing the gap to 102-101 after Haywood Highsmith’s 3-pointer with 6:54 left. Phoenix briefly regained the lead 105-104 on an Oso Ighodaro dunk and extended it to 110-106 on a Jordan Goodwin 3-pointer with 4:46 remaining. Boston regained control on a Brown putback, making it 112-111 with 2:30 to play, and held on to secure the victory.

—Field Level Media/Reuters