Not even the return of old friend Marcus Smart could breathe life into the Celtics at TD Garden on Saturday night, as Boston fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 127-121.
The Celtics looked like a team feeling the weight of playing their second game in as many nights and the grind of six games in nine days. Meanwhile, Memphis—now winners of eight of their last 10—came ready to take on the defending champs.
“These are the games you’ve just got to fight through it. It’s been a tough schedule, but we don’t make any excuses,” Jaylen Brown said after the game. “We know what the journey is about, and we’re not skipping any steps. I thought we fought as a team. We didn’t let the rope go – we didn’t give up. Some shots didn’t go in. Very ugly game – turnovers. It just didn’t feel like a normal Celtic game. But I give us credit. We fought, we fought to the end.”
The effort was certainly there. Despite trailing by as many as 14 points, Boston clawed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, they ran out of steam, with Memphis outscoring them 28-18 over the final 9:20 after Boston briefly took control.
“The effort was good,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “To be down 14 and take the lead in the fourth quarter – I felt like we didn’t really have a rhythm to the game, and then I thought we just kind of ran out of gas there at the end.”
Memphis, led by Ja Morant’s near triple-double (32 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists) and Jaren Jackson Jr.’s dominance (27 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks), controlled the tempo and physicality, capitalizing on a fatigued Celtics squad.
“Give credit to Memphis,” Brown added. “They pressured us, were physical, and the refs let it go. So, credit to Memphis. We weren’t strong enough with the basketball. I wasn’t. I was way too casual, and that’s my fault—too many turnovers. We have to be better than that. I give credit to Memphis. They knew that we played last night and just upped the pressure. We didn’t meet the level we needed.”
The loss snapped Jayson Tatum’s undefeated streak against the Grizzlies, dropping him to 13-1 in his career against Memphis. Here are eight takeaways as the Celtics drop to 19-5.
Interesting strategy
Last season, Jrue Holiday shot a career-high 42.9% from deep. He also led the league in corner-three-point shooting percentage, making a ridiculous 60% of his attempts.
Heading into Saturday night, however, Holiday had been struggling from beyond the arc, shooting just 32.8% (40-of-122)—below the league average of 35.4%—and only 30.7% from the corners. Aware of his recent struggles, Memphis dared him to beat them with his shooting.
The Grizzlies put a big on Holiday and let him take open threes, and their gamble worked. Holiday jacked up a career-high 17 three-point attempts, making just four of them (23.5%). He finished 8-of-26 (30.8%) on the night with 23 points.
“It’s a bold strategy,” Mazzulla said after the game. “He’s an All-Star. He shoots over 40% from three. I think that’s a risky one. I thought he handled it great. We empowered him. We want him to shoot any shot that he’s open. I think that’s a huge gift because we’re going to see it again and it’s going to be great for us. I’m really happy that they did that for us, and I thought the team did a good job empowering Jrue to shoot. He didn’t make them all, but I’m glad that we saw that. It’s going to be good for us.”
The Celtics stuck to their philosophy, continuing to take the open shot. Holiday, a career 37.0% three-point shooter with a history of making clutch shots, remained trusted by Boston to take those looks.
“I hope [more teams try it],” said Jaylen Brown. “We’ve got full belief in Jrue and any of those guys. We want to encourage it. We’ll be ready if teams do decide to do that.”
Holiday wasn’t bothered by the strategy.
“I feel like every team lets me shoot,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve got Jayson and Jaylen and people getting to the paint. I’m usually the recipient of that. Tonight, some of them went in, some of them didn’t.”
“Gotta keep on shooting them. I’m too wide open not to. Honestly, I kinda liked it,” Holiday added with a smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve been shooting that much.”
Tired legs
Holiday wasn’t the only Celtic that struggled to put the ball in the hoop. In fact, Jaylen Brown (10-of-14), Payton Pritchard (7-of-12), and Neemias Queta (2-of-3) were the only Celtics to shoot over 50% from the field.
Jayson Tatum shot a season-low 28.6% (6-of-21), Kristaps Porzingis shot 35.3% (6-of-17), also a season-low, and Derrick White 33.3% (3-of-9).
As a team, the Celtics shot 40% (42-of-105) from the field and 30% (18-of-60) from deep. Those missed shots and tired legs fueled Memphis’ transition game, as the Grizzlies scored 22 fastbreak points on 66.7% (8-of-12) shooting, compared to just four points for Boston. To go along with their missed shots, the Celtics had 13 turnovers.
“It’s basketball. It’s going to happen to every single team,” Holiday said. “Don’t really have an excuse. Just have to go out there and play, even though sometimes games might not go your way. We always know that we’re going to be in it because of the way we play and how hard we play.”
Missing free-throws
This one doesn’t need much explaining.
The Celtics entered Saturday night second in the NBA in free throw percentage, knocking down 81.0% of their attempts. They finished the game 19-of-28 at the charity stripe, a season-low 67.9%. In the fourth quarter, they were 3-of-6.
Leaving nine points at the line in a six-point loss will always sting.
Payton Pritchard bounces back
There is a reason Pritchard is such a heavy favorite to win Sixth Man of The Year. The fifth-year pro entered the night averaging 15.8 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds – career-highs across the board. He leads all reserves in made field goals (130), made three-pointers (89), and points (386). He is also top-10 in assists (25) and plus-minus (+112).
On Friday night against the Bucks, Pritchard had his first stinker of the season. He finished with scoreless for the first time this season, shooting 0-of-3.
However, on Saturday night, he bounced back – scoring 22 points and knocking down a game-high six three-pointers at a 54.5% clip.
“I’m never trying to go for mine. But obviously, be aggressive,” Pritchard said after the game. “I was just looking forward to today. That’s the beauty of the NBA. You get to play another game the next day and redeem yourself.”
No NBA player will let one off night (Is 0-3 really even off?) affect their confidence. That’s especially true for Pritchard, who came out firing on Saturday and returned to his usual self.
Sam Hauser leaves the game
Sam Hauser exited the game in the second quarter due to right adductor tightness. Head coach Joe Mazzulla offered an update on Hauser’s condition after the game.
“He’s doing pretty good,” Mazzulla said. “He said he’d be OK, but he just wasn’t able to finish tonight. But afterward, he said he was good.”
After losing Hauser and with Al Horford already sidelined, Mazzulla opted to go with a double-big lineup featuring Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet.
“I thought those lineups – were bigger, we were more physical,” Mazzulla said. “They weren’t able to switch us, and I thought that helped us get back into the game.”
Hauser wasn’t the only injury concern for Boston. Kristaps Porzingis briefly left the game in the second quarter after appearing to roll his ankle but returned for the second half. Derrick White also took several hard falls, including a rough collision with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. while chasing down a loose ball.
Fortunately, it appears the Celtics escaped without anything serious.
Marcus Smart struggles in return
Putting this at number six isn’t burying the lede.
For the ninth consecutive game, Smart came off the bench, and aside from the standing ovation he received from the crowd when he checked in at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter, he played a minimal role in his return.
Smart finished the night with just three points on 1-of-11 (9.1%) shooting from the field and 1-of-6 (16.7%) from deep with two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and two turnovers in just 19 minutes of action. He was a team-worst -10.
“It was weird, but it was great,” Jaylen Brown said on playing against Smart. “Marcus is a family member at this point, so to be able to see him, congratulate him on starting his family, etc., stuff off the court was amazing. All of that stuff is good. It was definitely good to see him.”
Another close one
The Celtics haven’t been blown out all season. A little over a quarter of the way through, their five losses have come by a combined 20 points, with none by more than two possessions.
Even when they’re not at their best, their talent and fight keep them in every game.
Plenty of time to rest
After one of the most grueling stretches of the season, the Celtics will finally get some time to rest. They have four days off before their next game, a home matchup against the 10-15 Pistons. After that, they’ll get two more days off before facing the 3-18 Wizards in Washington.
The Celtics will play just two games in the next 11 days.
“It’ll be good to get some days off. It’s been tough scheduling,” Jaylen Brown said after the game. “Tonight, I don’t think, was the best indication of Celtics basketball. I feel like we fought to the end, but I think today’s a night we put it behind us, we look at the film and get ready for what’s to come in the future.”
Boston returns to practice on Wednesday.
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