Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 123-103 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night at TD Garden.
The victory improved Boston’s record to 57-20, while Phoenix dropped to 35-42 and remains outside the Western Conference playoff picture.
The Celtics also made history by breaking the NBA’s single-season record for three-pointers made.
With Payton Pritchard’s triple early in the second quarter, Boston hit its 1,364th three of the season, surpassing the previous record of 1,363 set by the Golden State Warriors in 2022-23.
Boston finished the game with 14 threes on 39 attempts, pushing their season total to 1,370.
Brown was efficient, going 10-for-16 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc while also hitting eight of nine free throws.
Jayson Tatum supported him with 23 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
Kristaps Porzingis contributed 15 points before exiting early in the fourth after taking an elbow from Cody Martin to the nose.
The Celtics center walked to the locker room holding a towel to his face and later returned to the bench after receiving stitches.
Despite a brief delay from Porzingis’ injury, Boston never lost control of the game and held a double-digit lead throughout the second half.
The Celtics led by as many as 20 in the second quarter and were ahead 60-46 at halftime.
Pritchard’s record-breaking three sparked an offensive surge that Phoenix failed to match.
The Suns were without Kevin Durant for a second straight game due to an ankle injury, and Bradley Beal struggled in his return from a hamstring issue.
Beal went scoreless from the field, finishing 0-of-7 overall and 0-for-3 from deep, registering just one point in 30 minutes.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 37 points on 15-of-29 shooting but received limited support.
The only other Suns to reach double figures were Royce O’Neale and Oso Ighodaro with 12 points each, and Tyus Jones who added 12 off the bench.
Phoenix was outscored in every quarter except the third and shot just 32.4 percent from three-point range.
The Celtics received balanced contributions from their supporting cast, including 12 points from Luke Kornet and 10 from Pritchard.
Derrick White chipped in 12 points and seven assists while Jrue Holiday finished with four points and five rebounds.
