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The Celtics had just dropped their most recent game to the surging Houston Rockets coming into this one, whereas the Grizzlies had won two straight, beating LeBron James' former and current team one after the other.
Boston willed through to rally from a double-digit deficit at halftime and clinch a much-needed 112-103 victory on the road. Celtics' characteristic late-game surge down the stretch is what came to their rescue yet again as they sneaked through with a game that the Grizzlies thought they had in their bag.
This victory over the resurgent Grizzlies means that Boston are now 10-9 on the road and an emphatic 11-5 at home. The Celtics have now won six of their last ten games, currently hosting a 21-14 (0.600) win-loss record on the fifth spot out East. They are now four games behind the new Eastern Conference leaders and holders of the best record in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Grizzlies' defeat has dragged them down to the 10th position on the Western Conference leaderboard, as they have now lost seven of their last ten games, after once leading the West this very season. They currently hold an 18-17 (0.514) record to show, 5.5 games behind the Conference leaders.
Let's draw out some key takeaways from this resilient victory by Kyrie Irving and his Celtics over the plummeting Grizzlies.
#1 Irving & Horford take care of business, lead their team's rally from down 19
Irving shot an imposing 50 percent from the field and from downtown, finishing with a game-high 26 points and amassing 13 assists in the process. This was Uncle Drew's fourth-straight 20+ point performance which included the 40-point showcase against the Sixers last week.
Celtics veteran big man Al Horford played his part on the floor, shooting an awe-inspiring 5-of-7 from deep and contributing 18 points towards Boston winning cause.
The Celtics trailed 64-47 at intermission and came out with rejuvenated energy to take over the second half, and eventually, the game. Horford talked about the halftime speech in the Celtics locker room.
"At the half, Kyrie just challenged all of us to be better. The coach as well. I felt like we came out with better energy, played much harder."
Scoring just four points in the first half, Kyrie stepped up his aggressiveness after halftime and went to the rim more frequently.
#2 The Grizzlies shot an abysmal 27 percent from the three-point line
Mike Conley, Memphis' leading scorer this season, finished with a game-high total of 26 points. However, what might have cost Grizzlies the game is the fact that he shot 1-of-9 from downtown, bringing his three-point conversion to a meagre 11 percent for the game. He went 9-of-22 from the field.
The Grizzlies, as a unit, took 26 shots from beyond the arc and could manage to net only seven of them. The subpar 27 percent conversion from long range proved to be self-destructive for the team, keeping in mind that the Celtics shot lights out 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) from deep.
Dillon Brooks was the only shooting bright spot for the Grizz as he dropped four of his five attempted three-point shots and chipped in 19 points off the bench.
The Grizzlies average 35 percent from downtown this season, which is only good enough to be the 14th best in the league right now.
#3 The Memphis Grizzlies' defence deteriorated with time and the Celtics capitalised
The Grizzlies' defensive rating (106.8) is the sixth best in the league right now, but the team they were playing against are the fourth best on that list.
Even though the Grizzlies outscored their visitors by 19 points in the first half, the second half was a whole different ball game. Uncle Drew scored 22 of his 26 in the final quarter and Horford made some clutch threes down the stretch as the Grizzlies watched the game slipping away right before their very eyes. Marc Gasol commented after the match about their defensive performance.
"We couldn't get stops. Normally, the way you stop the bleeding is by getting stops, and we couldn't get stops. .And it felt like they made every shot down the stretch."
Boston went on an 11-2 run by the end of the third quarter, and the Grizzlies missed 15 of their first 16 shots in the final period.
The 12-4 Celtics' rally in the dying minutes of the game led to a wholesome 28-point turnaround, with Boston coming from down 19 to take the game by nine points (112-103) in the end.
Guess the Lakers players!
