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Marcus Smart (Reuters)
As every year New Year’s Eve provides us with a large number of intriguing games in the NBA. Tonight (Friday) the Boston Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns 110: 123 in a game that opened the festive evening games.
The Celtics dictated the pace from the first moment. The Greens-Whites’ 4:18 run at the end of the first quarter put them in a 12-point lead. The Celtics continued to press the pedal in the second quarter and the lead at its peak was 30 points. The Suns bit the gap slightly in the second half, but the hosts’ victory was not in doubt for a moment.
Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart led a list of seven players who scored in double figures with 24 points each. On the other side it was Devin Booker who stood out with 22 points, while Chris Paul closed out a weak evening of just 14 points on a bad percentage. The Celtics slightly improved their negative balance which now stands at 19:17. Phoenix, the team with the best balance in the league on the eve of the game, recorded its eighth loss this season compared to 27 wins.
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