Celtics Storm Back Against Suns; Bruins Defense Falls Flat against Canucks (11/8/18 Recap)
For the majority of the night in Phoenix, it looked as if the Celtics' slow start to the season would continue with a bad loss to a woeful Suns team who is still a couple of years from contention.
After putting themselves in an early hole down 32-13 after the first quarter and as many as 22 in the game, the C's offense did not cut it for most of the game, as they still trailed 90-73 with 7:16 left in the 4th quarter.
Even as Kyrie Irving lead the Celtics on a late run, a Devin Booker free throw put the Suns up by 6 with 43 seconds to go, a lead that looked to be secure.
But a quick three on the offensive end for Kyrie, then a steal and dish to Jaylen Brown again by Irving put the Celtics within 1 with just over 7 seconds to play.
After a pair of TJ Warren free throws, Kyrie got the ball with a chance to tie the game. When the Suns double-teamed him, he made a quick pass over to Marcus Morris, who nailed a three with 0.3 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
In OT, Kyrie went toe to toe with Booker and Warren, trading buckets in a wild back and forth first few minutes. However, back-to-back threes by Al Horford and Jaylen Brown put the Celtics up for good, as they came away with a 116-109 victory.
Kyrie finished with 39 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, while Morris and Brown both added 17 points. For the Suns, who fell to just 2-9 with the loss, Booker had 38 points and 9 assists, and Warren poured in 29. The Celtics' record now stands at 7-4, with their next game Friday night in Utah on ESPN.
Back in Boston, the Bruins did not enjoy the same success, as they surrendered a season-high 8 goals in a 8-5 blowout loss to the Canucks.
Both Bruins' goaltenders struggled mightily in this game. Jaroslav Halak got the start tonight to allow Tuukka Rask a night of rest, but allowed 5 goals on just 19 shots before being pulled in the 2nd period. Rask did not fare much better, conceding 3 goals on 14 shots.
The game was tied just 1-1 after the 1st period, but an offensive explosion left the score 6-4 in favor of the Canucks at the end of 2. Any chance of a Bruins comeback was thwarted by a pair of Vancouver goals midway through the 3rd, pushing the lead to 8-4.
Jake DeBrusk netted 2 goals for the B's, while Patrice Bergeron, Danton Heinen and Matt Grzelcyk each added a goal. Bo Horvat and Loui Eriksson led the way for the Canucks with a pair of goals apiece.
The Bruins stand at 8-5-2 (18 points), and will stay at home until their Saturday night showdown with the 10-5-0 Toronto Maple Leafs.
