Celtics show lack of poise in loss to Phoenix

Diposkan oleh silent aja 6:04 PM Post a Comment

BOSTON - The Celtics lost a game Friday night, and coach Brad Stevens thought they lost their poise as well.

Phoenix scored the final game's final seven points in the last 54.1 seconds to hand the Celtics their third consecutive loss, 87-80, at the Garden.

'I didn't think we played with much poise for the last 40 seconds,' Stevens said.

After Brandon Bass hit a 15-foot jumper to give the Celtics a 78-75 lead with 3:05 left, Boston missed its final six shots. The only points the Celtics scored the rest of the way came on two free throws by Jeff Green to tie the score, 80-80, with 2:02 left.

Backup center Alex Len, playing because Kelly Olynyk had poked Miles Plumee in the eye, tipped in Eric Bledsoe's missed jumper and sank a free throw to complete a three-point play with 54.1 seconds left to put Phoenix on top, 83-80.

Markieff Morris turned a Chris Johnson turnover into a dunk and after Green missed a 3-pointer, Goran Dragic got behind the defense for a layup with 11.4 seconds left to clinch it.

Stevens had only one timeout left so he didn't use it after Morris dunked because he wanted his team to get the ball down the court as fast as possible.

'I should've just called time out,' he said, 'and stopped it because it was, the last 40 seconds were awful.'

They were so awful Kris Humphries threw a towel to the floor at the end of the game and stormed off the court.

'He's upset because we lost,' Stevens said, 'and he certainly has got a right to be. That was not a good ending. It was not a good performance.'

'I don't know if it's as much as losing your poise,' Olynyk said. 'We kind of got a little bit antsy. We took the first shot rather than the best available shot or taking the good shot. I think we kind rushed a bit. So that might be another way to say that.'

The Celtics shot a season-low 30.9 percent, eclipsing the 32.3 percent they shot at Houston on Nov. 19.

'We missed 65 shots (29 of 94),' Stevens said. 'That's pretty incredible that we had a chance to win.'

No Celtic scored more than 11 points. That's how many Johnson and Kris Humphries each had. Humphries also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Green, who had scored 27 points three times in his previous six games, made only 2 of 14 shots and scored nine points. Rajon Rondo was 4 of 15 and finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Jared Sullinger was 2 of 12 and Avery Bradley made 4 of 12 in his return to the lineup. The Celtics made only 3 of 21 3-point attempts, but the Suns weren't much better, sinking just 5 of 26.

Dragic had 20 points to help Phoenix snap a three-game losing streak. Eric Bledsoe made his first start since missing 33 games with a knee injury and had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics wore green T-shirts in honor of St. Patrick's Day, but they didn't bring them any luck. They'll wear them again at New Orleans Sunday and at Dallas on Monday, which is St. Patrick's Day.

The Celtics made only four of 20 shots in the third quarter, but Olynyk grabbed an offense rebound and drained a 15-footer at the buzzer to slice the Phoenix lead to 64-60. Then the Celtics made their first four shots of the fourth quarter and scored the first nine points to grab a 69-64 lead. Brady capped the run by cutting baseline, taking a pass from Phil Pressey and laying the ball in - his favorite move. They made only 3 of 22 shots for the rest of the game.

The Celtics trailed by 11 in the second quarter, but Rondo's drive tied the score, 44-44, before Channing Frye made two free throws to give the Suns a 46-44 lead at the half.

Dragic scored 11 points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer to cap a 17-2 run that put Phoenix in front, 25-15, late in the quarter.

Contact Bill Doyle at wdoyle@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillDoyle15.