PHOENIX — Whenever opposing coaches have talked about the league-best Celtics, they’ll oftentimes point out to the many 3-pointers the team takes. That’s natural. Going into Saturday’s game against the Suns, the C’s led the league with 42.2 3-point attempts per game; they’re also fourth in the league with a 38.5% 3-point percentage.
C’s coach Joe Mazzulla often speaks about wanting his team to find the best shot. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean putting up droves of 3-pointers. But the Celtics often find the best look, and those happen to be open 3s a lot of the time. On the flip side, the C’s are often criticized for this strategy — especially when the jumpers aren’t falling.
But Suns star Kevin Durant praised the Celtics’ game plan Saturday, saying it makes sense from a numbers standpoint.
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“They got a solid strategy over there,” Durant said. “It’s one of those strategies where they might be playing a bad game early on. But over the course of a game, it’ll come back around for them. I think that’s what happened late in the game, they were able to make some shots.”
As Durant said, that strategy paid off in the Celtics’ win over the Suns on Saturday. The C’s and Suns were locked in a close game after the first quarter as Boston shot 2-for-8 on 3-pointers while Phoenix was 1-for-6. From there, the C’s finished 13-for-31 on 3s while the Suns were just 8-for-25. The percentages obviously work in favor for the Celtics. But it’s also about the quantity as the C’s finished with six more made 3s.
Durant was his otherworldly self Saturday, finishing with 45 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He was 18-for-26 from the floor, including 4-of-7 on 3-pointers, and the shot difficultly was all the way up. Even when the C’s played stellar defense, Durant still knocked down some tough jumpers.
But the Celtics overcame Durant’s flurry because they made some timely buckets. Three times down the stretch, the Suns put up a 3-pointer that could’ve cut the deficit to a single possession. Instead, it was the Celtics who drained a wide open corner 3 from Al Horford to seal the game. So those are the margins between two talented teams, which Durant pointed out.
“That’s what this team can do to you,” Durant said. “Thirty-nine 3s, they get up 40-to-50 3s a night. They stay home a lot on 3s, as well. So you gotta figure where your shot is going to come from. You can’t just catch-and-shoot.”
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