The Phoenix Suns won their second game in a row on Friday night with a 79-71 victory over the Boston Celtics. Marcin Gortat pushed his string of consecutive double-doubles to seven with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Gortat set the tone early, scoring 10 of Phoenix's first 16 points on a variety of looks that included a left-handed hook shot and a turnaround jumper. The Suns kept the pressure on Boston throughout the half and entered the break with a 46-35 lead.
The Celtics got out to a quick start in the third quarter, outscoring Phoenix for most of the third quarter to claim a 55-52 lead with 2:16 left. The lead marked Boston's first advantage on the scoreboard since the game's opening minutes at 2-0, but it would not last as Jared Dudley made a pair of shots to put the Suns back on top.
Phoenix never trailed again and the Suns left the TD Garden with an eight-point victory. Nash ended the game with 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds, just barely missing a double-double. Dudley was the only other Suns player to score double-digits, hitting two three-pointers (including a big one in the fourth quarter) for 12 total points.
On the other side of the ball, four Celtics scored in double figures but none had more than 14 points. Ray Allen led the way with 14 points, followed by Paul Pierce (12 points), Brandon Bass (11 points), Kevin Garnett (10 points) and Avery Bradley (10 points).
Phoenix has its second two-game win streak of the year with Friday's victory. The Suns can move to three straight with a road win against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
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