The Boston Celtics (43 - 30) defeated the Phoenix Suns (20 - 53) 102 - 99 on Saturday. The contest was truly a tale of two halves, with Boston opening up strong and building a formidable 58 - 41 halftime lead. The Suns came out a different team in the third quarter however, and took the period by a margin of 34 - 23. A pivotal final 12 minutes saw Phoenix finally draw within a single point of the Celtics, 98 - 97, with 1:15 remaining. However, the last 75 seconds of the contest saw Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas sink key free throws for Boston, and Evan Turner make a crucial block of a Devin Booker shot attempt, providing just enough to secure the victory. Thomas led the way versus his former team, managing 28 points, six rebounds and three assists. Turner, starting at small forward, was next with a 17 - point, 11 - rebound double - double that also included three assists and the aforementioned rejection. Avery Bradley, who'd been hospitalized in recent days with an illness, posted 15 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Kelly Olynyk paced the Celtics bench with 16 points and three rebounds. Boston remains in second place in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division, and are currently slotted in the fourth seed in the conference as well. They head to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Monday night. The Suns were spearheaded by Booker, who supplied 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Brandon Knight was next with 19 points, three assists, a rebound and a steal. Alex Len followed, registering 10 points, eight rebounds and an assist. Mirza Teletovic paced the Phoenix bench with 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Phoenix remains in fourth place in the Western Conference's Pacific Division. They head to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Monday night.
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 "PlayerStat(G,'Avery Bradley') has 1 Assists ,has 15 Points ,has 3 Total rebounds ,has 1 Steals ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Isaiah Thomas') has 3 Assists ,has 28 Points ,has 6 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kelly Olynyk') has 16 Assists ,has 3 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Alex Len') has 1 Assists ,has 10 Points ,has 8 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Devin Booker') has 4 Assists ,has 21 Points ,has 4 Total rebounds ,has 1 Steals ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Brandon Knight') has 3 Assists ,has 19 Points ,has 1 Total rebounds ,has 1 Steals ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Mirza Teletovic') has 2 Assists ,has 17 Points ,has 9 Total rebounds ,has 2 Steals ."]