The Boston Celtics earned arguably their most impressive home win Sunday at TD Garden in a 119-109 verdict against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Celtics improved their league-best record to 41-16 while the Grizzlies fell to 34-22.
Here’s how it went down:
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Playing without both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart and in a game where star Jayson Tatum (16 points on 3-for-16 from the field) scored three second-half points, the Celtics not only competed with the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but they did enough down the stretch to pull away for a victory. And they did so in large part because of their depth pieces like Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and newcomer Mike Muscala.
Boston was sloppy on the offensive end for much of the first half but took a 61-48 lead at the intermission as the Green combined to shoot 50% from long range (12-for-24). Hauser scored 11 points on 3-for-4 from the 3-point line while Pritchard (3-for-4), Muscala (2-for-4) and White (2-for-5) also connected on lead-building shots.
That hot shooting continued down the stretch with veteran Al Horford (16 points on 5-for-9) hitting a trio of crunch-time 3-pointers to help put the game away. Boston shot 41% from long range as a team, assisting on 28 of its 39 made baskets as eight players finished with double figures.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Hauser continued to impress in his role in the starting lineup, tying his season high of 31 minutes. The Celtics sharpshooter finished with 20 points on six made 3-pointers.
— White stepped up in a big way for the Celtics offense, doing just about everything in the contest. The starting point guard dished 10 assists to go with his team-high 23 points as he shot 8-for-20 from the field in 40 minutes.
— Grizzlies star Ja Morant got off to a slow start as five of his nine first-half points came at the charity stripe. However, Morant kept the Grizzlies in it down the stretch with a game-high 25 points on 9-for-18 from the field.
WAGER WATCH
Tatum’s poor offensive performance might have been appreciated by a number of Super Bowl bettors who were enticed by cross-sport wagers. After all, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert entered Sunday +130 to have more receptions than Tatum’s assists (three) and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was +280 to make more field goals than Tatum’s 3-point total (one).
UP NEXT
The Celtics return to action Tuesday as they face the Eastern Conference rival Milwaukee Bucks.
