Celtics-Suns takeaways: C’s snap losing streak with impressive road

Celtics-Suns takeaways: C’s snap losing streak with impressive road win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three Key Storylines

• D-White shines

• Horford, Kornet provide huge minutes

• Durant’s 45 points not enough

The Boston Celtics still haven’t lost three games in a row during the 2023-24 NBA season.

After winning 11 consecutive matchups, the Celtics dropped back-to-back games earlier this week. They avoided a third straight defeat with a hard-fought 117-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center on Saturday night.

Jayson Tatum (29 points) and Jaylen Brown (27 points) led the Celtics offensively. Six players scored in double-digits for the C’s, including Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard off the bench. Boston’s bench outscored Phoenix’s 27-16.

Kevin Durant (45 points) and Bradley Beal (25 points) provided the bulk of the scoring for the Suns. No other Phoenix player scored more than 13 points.

The C’s have a league-best 49-14 record and an eight-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers for first place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Celtics will continue their road trip Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. But before we look ahead to that matchup, here are three takeaways from Celtics-Suns.

1) White does it all

Derrick White didn’t play very well in the Celtics’ last two games, scoring a total of just 10 points in losses to the Cavaliers and Nuggets. He was much better versus the Suns and made his presence felt at both ends of the floor.

White scored 10 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting, while leading Boston with nine assists and grabbing five rebounds. White was consistently pushing the pace, particularly off of defensive rebounds. The Celtics got plenty of good shot attempts as a result.

The veteran guard’s defense also was excellent. You won’t find many players who defend better in transition than White, and Royce O’Neal found out firsthand during a fast break in the second quarter.

White’s ability to impact every facet of the game…