BOSTON — Apparently all the Celtics needed was a little push.
After an underwhelming first half against an undermanned Memphis Grizzlies squad Wednesday, head coach Brad Stevens called out his team’s lack of effort. The C’s responded and then some, outscoring the Grizzlies 64-41 in a monster second half to cruise to a 116-96 win, their 14th consecutive victory at TD Garden.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics’ turnaround, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points in a third quarter that saw Boston outscore Memphis 30-12. Evan Turner added 16 off the bench, and four other C’s reached double-figures.
Veteran Vince Carter and unheralded forward JaMychal Green each tallied 17 points for a Grizzlies squad that was without Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Chris Andersen. Memphis also lost Mario Chalmers to a painful Achilles injury in the third quarter.
Boston’s 14-game home winning streak is the team’s longest at TD Garden and the longest since the team won 18 in a row at the old Garden during the 1990-91 season.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Jared Sullinger
SHAKING OFF THE RUST
The Celtics hadn’t played since Saturday, and it took them a bit to get back into playing shape.
The C’s scored just once on their first six possessions, and the Grizzlies started out hot to take a very early 8-2 lead. Boston started to hit its stride, however, scoring seven of the first quarter’s final nine points and getting a 3-pointer from Marcus Smart just before the buzzer that cut the Celtics’ deficit to two.
MIXING IT UP
The second unit helped Boston surge in front early in the second quarter.
The combo of Smart, Bradley, Turner, Jonas Jerebko and Tyler Zeller ripped off a 13-3 run thanks in part to Jerebko’s sharp shooting and Smart’s tenacious defense.
But the injury-riddled Grizzlies hung around by beating the Celtics on the glass. Memphis held a 29-14 edge in rebounds at halftime and tallied 17 second-chance points to Boston’s two over the first two quarters.
Chalmers buried a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining in the first half to give Memphis a three-point lead entering the break.
UP TO THE CHALLENGE
Stevens apparently wasn’t happy with how the Celtics played in the first half, but Boston clearly got the message, as it set the tone in the third quarter by getting some second-chance buckets of its own.
Boston also went on a huge run after Chalmers left due to injury.
THOMAS TAKEOVER
Thomas helped spark that run by catching fire late in the third quarter.
The 5-foot-9 All-Star went off for 16 points in the frame, as he and Turner singlehandedly outscored the Grizzlies 16-4 to end the quarter and open up a 16-point advantage.
The Grizzlies scored just 12 points in the third quarter on just 3 of 12 shooting.
PLAY OF THE NIGHT
Thomas made an acrobatic pass to Jae Crowder in the second quarter. Where have we seen this before?
UP NEXT
The Celtics will face another Western Conference opponent Friday when they battle James Harden, Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets, who were in the conference’s No. 8 seed as of Wednesday. Tipoff at TD Garden is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
