Celtics break NBA season 3s record in 123-103 victory over the Suns

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and hit three 3-pointers and the Boston Celtics broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season in a 123-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Boston was 14 of 39 from 3-point range to push its season total to 1,370. Golden State held the previous record with 1,363 in 2022-23.

After having their nine-game winning streak halted in their previous game, the Celtics coasted to the victory.

Jayson Tatum added 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Kristaps Porzingis had 15 points before he walked to the locker room holding a towel to the bridge of his nose early in the final quarter after getting hit by Cody Martin’s elbow while the Suns player was driving to the basket.

Porzingis raised both arms and waved to the crowd as he headed into the tunnel. He returned to the bench late in the game and the team said the cut required stitches.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 37 points. Phoenix has lost five straight.

Boston opened a double-digit edge on Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter, pushed it to 20 midway into the period and led by 14 at halftime.

Boston beat the Suns by 30 points in Phoenix during a 6-0 trip just over a week ago.

Suns: Bradley Beal returned after missing eight games with a hamstring injury. He looked rusty, going 0 for 7 from the floor — missing all three 3-point attempts. He made one free throw in 30 minutes. … Kevin Durant was out for the second straight with an ankle injury.

Celtics: At times, Tatum, Brown and Porzingis seem like they can take turns scoring against certain teams.

Pritchard hit a left-wing shot 3:40 into the second quarter for the club’s NBA record 1,364th 3-pointer.

The Celtics’ lead never fell into single digits in the second half.

The Suns are at the Knicks on Sunday, and the Celtics host the Wizards the same night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, reaches to steal the ball from Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) hangs onto the ball as Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) tries for a steal during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer calls to his players during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) battles for a rebound with Phoenix Suns center Oso Ighodaro (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket past Phoenix Suns center Oso Ighodaro (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) takes a three-point shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge is for the second time ordering the Trump administration to return a Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, blasting the U.S. government in a ruling Sunday that noted a now-suspended Justice Department lawyer admitted he didn't know why the man was being held.

The order from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis reaffirms a ruling she gave days earlier, shooting down arguments that the government can't facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia because he is no longer in U.S. custody.

“As defendants acknowledge, they had no legal authority to arrest him, no justification to detain him, and no grounds to send him to El Salvador — let alone deliver him into one of the most dangerous prisons in the Western Hemisphere,” Xinis wrote. “Having confessed grievous error, the defendants now argue that this Court lacks the power to hear this case, and they lack the power to order Abrego Garcia’s return.”

The Justice Department has asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause Xinis’ ruling.

Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national, was arrested in Maryland and deported last month despite an immigration judge’s 2019 ruling that shielded him from deportation to El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs.

Abrego Garcia had a permit from DHS to legally work in the U.S. and that he was a sheet metal apprentice pursuing a journeyman license, his attorney said. His wife is a U.S. citizen.

The White House has described Abrego Garcia's deportation as an “administrative error” but has also cast him an MS-13 gang member. Attorneys for Abrego Garcia said there is no evidence he was in MS-13.

In her order Sunday, Xinis referenced earlier comments from now-suspended Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni in which Reuveni said: “We concede he should not have been removed to El Salvador” and that he responded “I don’t know” when asked why Abrego Garcia was being held.

The Justice Department placed Reuveni on leave after he made the comments.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” likened Reuveni's comments to “a defense attorney walking in, conceding something in a criminal matter.”

“That would never happen in this country,” she said. "So he’s on administrative leave now and we’ll see what happens.”

Stacey Young, a former Justice Department lawyer and founder of Justice Connection, a network of department alumni that works to support employees, released a statement that defended Reuveni and said he has “zealously represented the United States in some of the most high-stakes and controversial immigration cases under the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.”

“Justice Department attorneys are being put in an impossible position: Obey the president, or uphold their ethical duty to the court and the Constitution," Young said. “We should all be grateful to DOJ lawyers who choose principle over politics and the rule of law over partisan loyalty.”

FILE - Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)