Boston has won 14 in a row at home for the first time since Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale played, since I was in junior high school, and before most of this Celtics team were born.
After skipping most of the warm ups and spending parts of the last two days in the hospital with a skin infection of thoroughly obscure etiology, Sully was a big question mark. However, in the early going, he was the only Celtic who scored more than once. Through the first six minutes he had five of Boston’s 12 points.
Neither team looked particularly sharp in the first half. Boston finished the first period shooting less than 40% and with no offensive boards. They also spotted Memphis the first six points of the game. The second unit (plus Isaiah Thomas) finished the quarter on a little run and at the end of one, Memphis was up 2 on the Celtics, 26-24.
The Celtics started the next quarter with the second unit continuing the run that ended the first quarter. By the time the media stoppage hit three minutes in, Boston was up three and Lance Stephenson had decided to take on the entire Celtics lineup one on five. The results were not satisfactory for the Grizz, and he was put back on the bench, there to contemplate the infinite and the wisdom of imitating Kobe Bryant–if he was so inclined.
Halfway through the second quarter, Boston still didn’t have an offensive rebound, but–encouragingly–they were actually trying to get them at that point. Prior to that, they were almost Doc-Riversian in their willingness to let Memphis grab the misses. In other notable second quarter occurrences, a team besides the Boston Celtics was called for defensive three seconds for the first time this season.
The Celtics held onto their lead for a few minutes before the Grizzlies closed the gap. The teams passed the lead back and forth the last three minutes of the half. Mario Chalmers hit a three late that gave Memphis a 55-52 lead at the end of the second.
For inexplicable reasons, Jarell Martin scored 15 points in the first half. That made a total of 23 points for Martin–this season. The first half was so boring that the ESPN play-by-play crew spent a significant chunk of it trying to get the “Memphis Grizzlies Goon Squad” nickname going. It’s probably not going to stick.
Boston started the second half the way Celtics fans would’ve preferred they start the game–on an 8-2 run that led to a Memphis timeout. A couple minutes later Chalmers went down with an apparent non-contact ankle injury. It was severe enough that he called for the training staff before even trying to get up. He went straight to the locker room. That left Memphis with seven healthy players and one Lance Stephenson.
Memphis picked up another defensive three seconds in the third period, which was completely unexpected, and on their subsequent possession, Lance Stephenson tried something and turned the ball over, which was not unexpected.
In between, IT hit a wide open three to give Boston a nine point lead.
Evan Turner also hit a three point shot in the third, which was about the time where you knew that Boston was going to win this one. If you still had your doubts, Lance Stephenson’s three consecutive ill-conceived one-on-five possessions would’ve convinced you.
In short, the Grizzlies fell apart after Mario left. Part of that was probably because Chalmers was out, but part of it is the depth of the Celtics. They shouldn’t have any problems with undermanned teams, and the Grizz were short of players before Mario went out.
Boston ended the quarter on an 18-4 run, and had a sixteen point lead, 83-67.
They played the fourth quarter because they had to.
Final score: 116-96
Green
- The second half.
- Isaiah Thomas’s third quarter outburst (16 points).
- The Garden winning streak.
Gross
- In the first half, Boston was -15 on the glass. Memphis more than doubled up Boston in rebounds 29-14.
- The refs reviewed a foul with 1.5 seconds left in the game and added a tenth of a second.
Greenlights
Sully coast-to-coast! https://t.co/yZlapVynaT
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) March 10, 2016
Tough shot Sully https://t.co/jFmcLE7J7G — KWAPT (@KWAPT) March 10, 2016
Turner steal, coast-to-coast for the and one: https://t.co/5nj7UTzCH7
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) March 10, 2016
Cobra doin work underneath hits IT: https://t.co/Y2U0gttKub — KWAPT (@KWAPT) March 10, 2016
Mickey doing his thing…. https://t.co/JpGJ6MSJ98
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) March 10, 2016
Grid
- Memphis shot 3 for 16 from the field in the 3rd quarter and were outscored by Isaiah Thomas.
- Vince Carter was 5-9 for 17 points and 5 rebounds. Not bad for a guy old enough to be Terry Rozier’s dad, basically.
- Stephenson fouled Terry Rozier with a second to go in the game and Boston up 20 because Stephenson.
- Jordan Mickey blocked three shots in like five seconds.
Bonus round
Red’s Army John with the tweet of the night.
The Maine Red Claws in to close out the game for Boston
— John Karalis (@RedsArmy_John) March 10, 2016
Bonus bonus round
Brian Robb with a close runner-up.
We are now officially watching the worst review in NBA history. Holy cow.
— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) March 10, 2016
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