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The Boston Celtics lost to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at home and star point guard Kyrie Irving says the amount of offensive rebounds the Suns got ultimately doomed Boston.
The Suns had 21 offensive rebounds in this game.
Kyrie Irving says too many opposing offensive boards "breaks people's spirit." The Suns had 21 OREB tonight.
— Boston.com Celtics News (@BDCCeltics) December 20, 2018
The Suns outrebounded the Celtics 56-37 and won by a final score of 111-103. Phoenix is now on a four-game winning streak and 8-24 on the year. The Celtics, meanwhile, have lost two straight after winning eight games in a row.
Kyrie Irving finished with 29 points and 10 assists in 36 minutes while shooting 10-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Celtics, who entered the game with the fourth-best defense in the NBA, didn't play like an elite defense in this one and it cost them a win in the end.
Suns rookie big man Deandre Ayton had eight offensive rebounds and 18 total rebounds for the game. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 Draft scored 23 points as well. Phoenix star shooting guard Devin Booker, who has a history of playing well in Boston, notched 25 points and eight assists. He had two offensive rebounds as well. The Celtics just did a terrible job of boxing out all evening.
The loss of center Aron Baynes was a big reason why the rebounding disparity was so big. Baynes suffered a broken hand two minutes into the game. Kyrie Irving and the Celtics need to regroup fast if they want to get back on the right path.
