Game ID: 22500986
Phoenix Suns @ Boston Celtics
Monday, March 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 31 34 26 29 120PHX 32 29 25 26 112
BOS vs PHX ScoutingBOS vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 3/08 · 1 day's restNEW Scheierman 18 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/10 · 1 day's restOUT Walsh missed 2 since 3/06, returns tonight: 1 min (7% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 20 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/12 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 2 since 3/08, out tonight
BACK Walsh back 3/10 after 2, 1 min since (7% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 19 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/14 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 3 since 3/08, out tonight
BACK Walsh back 3/10 after 2, 7 min since (40% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/16 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 4 since 3/08, out tonight
BACK Walsh back 3/10 after 2, 7 min since (40% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 28 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/18 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 5 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Walsh missed 2 since 3/14, out tonight
NEW Scheierman 18 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/20 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 6 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Walsh missed 3 since 3/14, out tonight
NEW Scheierman 18 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/22 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 7 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Walsh missed 4 since 3/14, out tonight
NEW Scheierman 18 to 26 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/25 · 2 days' restOUT Vučević missed 8 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Walsh missed 5 since 3/14, out tonight
NEW Scheierman 18 to 25 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/08 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 6 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 2 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Goodwin missed 6 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 3 since 3/03, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 2 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Booker back 3/03 after 4, 33 min since (97% of 34)
BACK Highsmith back 3/06 after 2, 0 min since (0% of 11)
NEW Ighodaro 22 to 29 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/10 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 7 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 3 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Goodwin missed 7 since 2/22, returns tonight: 14 min (61% of 22)
OUT Bouyea missed 4 since 3/03, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 3 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Booker back 3/03 after 4, 33 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Highsmith back 3/06 after 2, 11 min since (94% of 11)
NEW Ighodaro 22 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Fleming 12 to 17 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/12 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 8 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 4 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 5 since 3/03, returns tonight: 4 min (31% of 13)
OUT Huntley missed 4 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Booker back 3/03 after 4, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Goodwin back 3/10 after 7, 14 min since (61% of 22)
BACK Highsmith back 3/06 after 2, 11 min since (100% of 11)
PHX availability going into 3/13 · back-to-backOUT Brooks missed 9 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 5 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 5 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 3/10 after 7, 16 min since (70% of 22)
BACK Bouyea back 3/12 after 5, 4 min since (31% of 13)
BACK Highsmith back 3/06 after 2, 11 min since (100% of 11)
NEW Fleming 12 to 18 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/16 · 2 days' restOUT Brooks missed 10 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 6 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 6 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 3/10 after 7, 16 min since (74% of 22)
BACK Bouyea back 3/12 after 5, 4 min since (31% of 13)
BACK Highsmith back 3/06 after 2, 13 min since (116% of 11)
NEW Green 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Fleming 12 to 20 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/17 · back-to-backOUT Brooks missed 11 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 7 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Dunn missed 2 since 3/13, returns tonight: 17 min (90% of 19)
OUT Bouyea missed 2 since 3/13, returns tonight: 1 min (8% of 13)
OUT Huntley missed 7 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 3/10 after 7, 18 min since (82% of 22)
NEW Green 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Fleming 12 to 20 min over the last 5
NEW Highsmith 11 to 18 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 3/19 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 12 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 8 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 8 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 3/10 after 7, 19 min since (87% of 22)
BACK Dunn back 3/17 after 2, 17 min since (90% of 19)
BACK Bouyea back 3/12 after 5, 3 min since (20% of 13)
NEW Green 27 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Fleming 12 to 19 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/21 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 13 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Allen missed 2 since 3/17, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 9 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 9 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Dunn back 3/17 after 2, 18 min since (97% of 19)
BACK Bouyea back 3/12 after 5, 5 min since (37% of 13)
NEW Green 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ighodaro 22 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Fleming 12 to 19 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/22 · back-to-backOUT Brooks missed 14 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Allen missed 3 since 3/17, out tonight
OUT O'Neale missed 2 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Williams missed 10 since 3/05, out tonight
OUT Highsmith missed 2 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Huntley missed 10 since 3/05, returns tonight: 5 min (47% of 10)
BACK Dunn back 3/17 after 2, 20 min since (106% of 19)
BACK Bouyea back 3/17 after 2, 6 min since (49% of 13)
NEW Green 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ighodaro 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Fleming 12 to 18 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 21 and Tatum at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Vučević (4 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Booker at 33 and Green at 29 a game. Without Brooks (10 straight), Williams (6 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Phoenix minus-2 and the arc, Phoenix at 41 percent from three to Boston's 33. Call it Boston 113, Phoenix 110, Phoenix keeping it close.
3/08 @ CLE 109-98 — BOS notes
BOS won 109-98. BOS shot 44% (37 of 84) to CLE's 41%, 15 of 38 from three. Brown led with 23 (7 of 17, 1 of 3 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Tatum added 20, Pritchard 18. The hinge was Q2, 21-10: a lead of 9 became 20, and the lead reached 26. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
3/10 @ SAS 116-125 — BOS notes
BOS lost 116-125. BOS shot 47% (42 of 89) to SAS's 52%, 19 of 51 from three, and got to the line 17 times to SAS's 25. White led with 34 (11 of 22, 3 of 11 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Tatum added 24, Harper Jr. 22. Q1 was theirs, 31-29, but the other 3 periods went 96-85 against them. White's -14 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/12 @ OKC 102-104 — BOS notes
BOS lost 102-104. BOS shot 40% (35 of 87) to OKC's 48%, 13 of 42 from three. Brown led with 34 (10 of 25, 1 of 4 from three, 13 of 14 at the line); Pritchard added 14, Scheierman 11. Q2 was theirs, 31-29, but the other 3 periods went 75-71 against them. They led by as many as 12. Queta's -11 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/14 vs WAS 111-100 — BOS notes
BOS won 111-100. BOS shot 44% (41 of 93) to WAS's 44%, 12 of 46 from three. The glass went 55-38 for them. Queta led with 24 (11 of 13); Tatum added 20, Brown 16. The hinge was Q2, 35-14: a lead of 2 became 23, and the lead reached 30. White was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
3/16 vs PHX 120-112 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-112. BOS shot 49% (39 of 80) to PHX's 45%, 17 of 40 from three. Brown led with 41 (10 of 20, 2 of 5 from three, 19 of 21 at the line); Tatum added 21, White 21. The hinge was Q2, 34-29: BOS came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 4. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
3/18 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 108, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Vučević (5 straight), Walsh (2 straight). One day's rest. Golden State comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 121, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 21 free throws a game; Porziņģis at 22 and Melton at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Ste. Curry (18 straight), Moody (7 straight), Horford (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Golden State minus-6 and the defense, Boston allowing 108 a night to Golden State's 121. Call it Boston 116, Golden State 111.
3/20 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 127, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jerome at 23 and Jackson at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Vučević (6 straight), Walsh (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Memphis minus-9 and the defense, Boston allowing 108 a night to Memphis's 127. Call it Boston 117, Memphis 113, Memphis keeping it close.
3/22 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 31 and Tatum at 20 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Vučević (7 straight), Walsh (4 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 111, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 27 free throws a game; Randle at 23 and Dosunmu at 18 a game. Without Edwards (3 straight), Reid (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Minnesota plus-2 and the arc, Minnesota at 40 percent from three to Boston's 32. Call it Boston 115, Minnesota 111, Minnesota keeping it close.
3/25 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and Tatum at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Vučević (8 straight), Walsh (5 straight). 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Holmgren at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Sandfort (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 38 percent from three to Boston's 32. Call it OKC 112, Boston 110, Boston keeping it close.
3/08 vs CHA 111-99 — PHX notes
PHX won 111-99. PHX shot 46% (36 of 79) to CHA's 42%, 16 of 41 from three, and went to the line 26 times to CHA's 15 — 23 points from the stripe to their 10. PHX turned it over 6 times to CHA's 11. Booker led with 30 (7 of 18, 1 of 6 from three, 15 of 15 at the line); Gillespie added 24, Green 24. The hinge was Q4, 30-22: a lead of 4 became 12, and the lead reached 16. Highsmith was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
3/10 @ MIL 129-114 — PHX notes
PHX won 129-114. PHX shot 54% (48 of 89) to MIL's 51%, 24 of 51 from three, and got to the line 11 times to MIL's 20. PHX turned it over 11 times to MIL's 16. Booker led with 27 (10 of 21, 4 of 7 from three); J. Green added 25, O'Neale 21. The hinge was Q4, 29-17: a lead of 3 became 15. PHX trailed 62-65 at the half and won the second half 67-49. Ighodaro was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
3/12 @ IND 123-108 — PHX notes
PHX won 123-108. PHX shot 52% (46 of 88) to IND's 45%, 13 of 32 from three. Booker led with 43 (14 of 31, 4 of 7 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Green added 36, O'Neale 15. The hinge was Q4, 27-20: a lead of 8 became 15. Green was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
3/13 @ TOR 115-122 — PHX notes
PHX lost 115-122. PHX shot 48% (38 of 80) to TOR's 53%, 18 of 42 from three, and went to the line 30 times to TOR's 20 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. The glass went 34-44 against them. Green led with 34 (13 of 25, 8 of 16 from three); Booker added 31, Allen 15. Q2 was theirs, 34-29, turning a 2-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 93-81 against them. They led by as many as 11. Goodwin's -10 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/16 @ BOS 112-120 — PHX notes
PHX lost 112-120. PHX shot 45% (37 of 83) to BOS's 49%, 13 of 40 from three. Booker led with 40 (15 of 24, 2 of 7 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Green added 21, Highsmith 16. Q1 was theirs, 32-31, but the other 3 periods went 89-80 against them. Green's -12 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/17 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 125, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Randle at 16 a game. Without Conley (8 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Booker at 34 and Green at 28 a game. Without Brooks (11 straight), Williams (7 straight), Dunn (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to Phoenix's 10 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 113 a night to Minnesota's 125. Call it Phoenix 116, Minnesota 115, Minnesota keeping it close.
3/19 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 24 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 28 and Fox at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Booker at 35 and Green at 25 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Brooks (12 straight), Williams (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-10 a night and Phoenix minus-4. Call it San Antonio 119, Phoenix 113.
3/21 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Booker at 34 and Green at 23 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Brooks (13 straight), Allen (2 straight), Williams (9 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 122, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Portis at 18 and Rollins at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been minus-3 a night and Milwaukee minus-9 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 113 a night to Milwaukee's 122. Call it Phoenix 117, Milwaukee 110.
3/22 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 113, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Booker at 28 and Green at 21 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Brooks (14 straight), Allen (3 straight), O'Neale (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; Ingram at 26 and Barrett at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Murray-Boyles (10 straight). One day's rest.
So: Toronto wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Toronto has been plus-4 a night and Phoenix minus-4. Call it Toronto 115, Phoenix 112, Phoenix keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXAC A. Coffey
CG C. Gillespie
DB D. Booker
GA G. Allen
HH H. Highsmith
JG J. Goodwin
JG J. Green
KM K. Maluach
OI O. Ighodaro
RF R. Fleming
RO R. O'Neale
BOSBS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JT J. Tatum
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
PHX/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Jaylen Brown scores 18 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter to help Celtics beat Suns 120-112
BOSTON -- — Jaylen Brown had 18 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and Jayson Tatum scored 21 in his fifth game back from an Achilles tendon injury to help the Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns 120-112 on Monday night.
Devin Booker scored 40 for the Suns, who have lost back-to-back games after snapping a four-game winning streak. Jalen Green scored 21 for Phoenix.
Derrick White , who was presented with February's Eastern Conference's Defensive Player of the Month Award before the game, had 21 points for Boston, and Payton Pritchard scored 19.
Boston trailed by three points, 111-108, with less than four minutes left before Brown stole the ball from Booker and fed it to Tatum for a layup. After a Phoenix miss, Brown rebounded Tatum’s miss to give Boston the lead and then added two free throws and a short jumper to complete an 8-0 Celtics run.
Boston scored 12 of the game’s last 13 points to pull away.
Phoenix lost to Toronto on Friday after giving up a 23-5 run in the fourth quarter to blow a 10-point lead.
Tatum missed Boston's first 62 games while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in last year's playoffs . He returned March 6 , played three games, sat one out and now has played more than 32 minutes in back-to-back games.