Boston, MA (My Sportsbook) - Jason Richardson hit 6-of-7 from three-point range en route to a 34-point, 10-rebound night, helping the Suns hand the Celtics their first loss of the season, a 110-103 decision at TD Garden.

Steve Nash chipped in his usual 16-point, 12-assist effort for Phoenix, which rebounded from its only loss this season, a 122-100 loss to Orlando on Wednesday. Amare Stoudemire ended with 22 points and seven boards, while Grant Hill and Jared Dudley contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.

Kevin Garnett led the way for Boston, finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the team's first setback in seven games this year. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce each added 16 points, with Pierce shooting just 5-of-15 from the field.

Rajon Rondo doled out 11 assists to go with 14 points, and Kendrick Perkins donated 12 points and seven caroms in defeat.

The difference of the game was three-point shooting, as Phoenix shot 13-of-24 from downtown compared to Boston's 4-for-18 effort.

"I thought all night, to the three point shooters, instead of running them off the line we stopped short and allowed them to shoot the three," Pierce said. "That's their system, that's the situations they put you in and it worked to their advantage tonight. Just a step slow with the defense."

Early in the fourth, Richardson hit his sixth three of the game and followed that with a conventional three-point play from the left baseline on the next possession, giving the Suns a 93-85 lead.

A Channing Frye free throw and Dudley bucket capped the 9-0 run, though Boston got the crowd back into the game with seven straight, the last bucket an Allen three-ball for a 96-92 game with 5 1/2 minutes left.

The teams traded points and it stayed a four-point game after Stoudemire blocked a Rondo layup near the two-minute mark.

Nash and Rasheed Wallace traded missed three-point tries, but the two-time MVP was true from behind the arc with a hand in his face with 50.9 ticks left.

Pierce was fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the line, and Rondo made a layup after a Nash turnover to give Boston a chance, but Phoenix iced the game at the foul line to seal the impressive road win.

"We're pretty good offensively, and as long as we can just limit our turnovers we feel pretty good about our chances," Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. "I like the fact that the first things our guys said when we went into the locker room was that we won it with our defense again, and we really did win it with our defense."

Phoenix led 29-27 after the first and headed to the locker room ahead, 57-51.

The visitors continued to play frontrunner in the third but only took a two- point lead, 85-83, into the final stanza.

Game Notes

Boston was trying to start the season with seven straight wins for the second time in three years...The Celtics had won nine straight home games in the regular season dating back to last March...Suns guard Leandro Barbosa missed his third straight game with a wrist injury...Boston took both meetings with Phoenix a year ago and had won three straight in the series...Wallace ended with eight points and missed all six of his three-point tries for Boston.