The Boston Celtics’ sixth and final road game versus the Grizzlies took place in Memphis on Monday night. After eight consecutive victories, Boston entered the game on a high note, while the Grizzlies took to the court for just the second time under interim coach Tuomas Iisalo. Boston prevailed in an entertaining game, 117-103 to round out the road trip with a perfect 6-0 record.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla surprised everyone handing former Memphis forward Xavier Tillman his first start of the season. Tillman played three and a half seasons in Memphis before becoming a Celtic, with both Luke Kornet and Jaylen Brown out. Xavier slotted in at power forward alongside Kristaps Porziņģis.
Porziņģis missed his first mid-range shot attempt but followed that up with a three-pointer for the road team’s first score. Xavier Tillman scored his first points of the contest with two free throws before successfully blocking former teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. on the low block.
Jayson Tatum converted on his first two shots of the game as both teams pushed the pace early. Al Horford came off the bench and provided an instant impact with a pair of three-pointers. Midway through an entertaining first quarter, scores were tied at 17 apiece. Jayson Tatum had a beautiful step-through layup as he stayed perfect from the field, then Jrue Holiday served up a perfectly weighted pass to Porziņģis for the one-handed jam with authority.
Desmond Bane went 3 from 4 from the field in the first quarter, and was Memphis’ best player to start the contest. The Grizz also got solid contributions from Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant as the home team went on mini 7-0 run and take back the lead. Memphis converted on 12 points in the paint and went 5-11 from three to lead the game 32-25 after 12 minutes of play.
The start of the second was all Ja Morant, as he hit a turn around hook shot and then nailed a circus bank 3-point shot off the top corner of the backboard to assert himself on the contest. To stay in the game with the quick-paced Grizzlies, Boston received solid minutes from Horford and Hauser, who both made three-pointers.
Morant went to the bench midway through the quarter with 16 first half points and an 8-point lead. With five minutes remaining in the half, Derrick White made his first three-pointer of the game. With the three-pointer, White tied Isaiah Thomas’s single-season Celtics record of 245 three-pointers.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25934458/2207389182.jpg)
Memphis’ lead swelled to 12 points at one point, but Boston responded with their own 10-2 run and get the lead back to two. Kristaps Porziņģis’s third three-pointer of the game saw Boston regain the lead.
With scores tied at 57-57, Jrue Holiday made a floating bank shot for his fifth point of the game. Porziņģis and White both converted on layups to end the half with Tatum hitting on his turnaround shot and his seventeenth point of the night. Boston outscored the Grizzlies 41 points to 29 in the second quarter to take the lead at the half, 66-61.
Memphis went on a 10-0 run to start the third quarter as they raced back into the lead, 71-66. Jrue Holiday finally stopped the bleeding for Boston with his first three-pointer of the game and Boston’s first score of the third quarter. Al Horford was tremendous off the bench for the C’s as he hit a three-pointer and then drove and scored his eighteenth point of the game with a quarter and a half to go.
The seesawing contest continued as the visiting Celtics went back up by 5 points. Jrue Holiday came alive in the third quarter, hitting on 3 three-pointers and single-handedly scoring 11 points for the World Champions. After three quarters, Boston had 4 players in double figures, spearheaded by Tatum with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Horford with 20 points, and Porzingis with 18 points. Boston led, 92-85, after three quarters.
Both teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter as the intensity of both teams ramped up. Derrick White hit his 246th three-pointer of the season over Zach Eady to take the record as Boston swiftly got the lead back out to double digits at 10 points. Morant fouled White well beyond the arc, and he converted 2 out of 3 free throws to extend the lead to 12 points.
Payton Pritchard’s first triple of the game came with seven minutes to go as Jayson Tatum watched on from the bench to start the fourth. Memphis went on a run of their own to cut Boston’s lead to 9 points, 110-101 with four minutes to go.
Jayson Tatum started to get frustrated late in the game, and he was whistled for a tech as Boston went scoreless in a brutal four-and-a-half-minute stretch. White’s third three-pointer from the corner saw Boston retain a double-digit lead as the clock wound down on a long road trip. Al Horford led the C’s with 26 points (6-9 from three), Tatum had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Kristaps would end the night with 19 points.
Boston next travels home and will next host the Miami Heat, Wednesday night at 7:30 pm EST.
