The Celtics didn’t have Jayson Tatum on Wednesday due to an ankle injury. It didn’t matter, as they blew out the Suns, 132-102, for their seventh straight victory.
Boston is rounding into playoff form at just the right time. The Celtics have won 14 of their last 15 road games with their only loss coming against the Pistons on Feb. 27.
Another encouraging sign, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com, is that Jaylen Brown looks healthy, In his second game back after missing three with a knee injury, Brown had 24 points in 29 minutes.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers are desperately trying to retain a top-six selection so that they don’t have to forward their first-round pick to the Thunder. That made Wednesday’s 119-114 loss to the woeful Wizards a key one, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have lost six straight and 23 of their last 27 games. They remain tied with the Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record with nine games remaining. Philadelphia has a home back-to-back against Miami and Toronto this weekend.
- While Sixers coach Nick Nurse believes Tyrese Maxey will play again this season, Pompey argues that there’s no reason to bring him back under the current circumstances. Maxey hasn’t played since March 3 due to back and finger injuries.
- The Knicks‘ point guard depth took another hit on Wednesday. Cameron Payne, who started with Jalen Brunson (ankle) and Miles McBride (groin) sidelined, rolled his ankle in the first half against the Clippers and did not return. Rookie Tyler Kolek played 19 scoreless minutes with seven assists but was exploited defensively, ESPN’s Chris Herring notes. “They kept coming at us with that high two-man game, and I’ve got to be better about defending that,” Kolek said.
- Mitchell Robinson is hopeful he can play in both ends of a back-to-back before the end of the regular season. He has not yet been cleared by the Knicks medical staff to play in back-to-back games. Robinson didn’t play in Tuesday’s win over Dallas, then logged 13 minutes against the Clippers. Robinson told SNY’s Ian Begley that he’ll “probably” be cleared soon.