The Super Bowl wasn't the only big game being played on Sunday, as the Celtics had a big one themselves, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 119-109 in a Super Bowl Sunday matinee at TD Garden.
The Grizzlies entered Sunday with the second-best record in the Western Conference, but had been on a little bit of a skid as of late, having lost seven of their last 10 games. Regardless of the recent slip, the Grizzlies presented Boston a great opportunity to further prove themselves in the national spotlight, as the Celtics were without Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon.
With all the injuries in the Boston lineup, Sam Hauser saw his third start of the season, and he would not disappoint. Hauser finished with 20 points, knocking down six threes to tie a career high. Hauser had a team-high eight points in the first quarter.
Hauser wasn't the only Celtic making it rain from deep, as Boston shot 12-of-24 (50%) from three in the first half. It marked the fourth consecutive game the Celtics made 10 or more threes in the first half. Eight of those 12 first-half threes came from Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Mike Muscala, who shot a combined 8-of-12 (66.6%) from deep.
Boston would finish with 21 made threes on the night while shooting 41.2% from three. Boston now has 11 games this season with at least 20 made threes. It also marked the fourth consecutive game that the Celtics shot 41% or better from deep.
After trailing by two at the end of the first quarter, the Celtics jumped out to a 15-point lead in the second quarter fueled by a 27-11 run, led by Derrick White. White scored 11 points, while also recording five assists. He scored or assisted on nine of Boston's 11 made field goals in the second quarter. White would finish the day with a team-high 23 points and 10 assists, notching a double-double and continuing his tremendous play this season.
Leading by 13 at the half, the Celtics had a chance to put the game away, but a slow start to the second half, accompanied by a 15-2 Grizzlies run, would cost their lead, as Memphis would come all the way back to tie the game.
Despite the Celtics opening the third quarter making just one of their first 12 attempts, Joe Mazzulla continued his anti-timeout campaign until the game was tied. After the timeout, Boston would outscore Memphis 19-18 and retake a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
On a day Jayson Tatum didn't record a made field goal in the second half, it was White who delivered for the Celtics again. White dropped 10 points in the fourth quarter while adding two assists. White scored or assisted on 45.5% of Boston's fourth-quarter points, while recording a plus-minus of +9.
It was an impressive win for the Celtics, who got contributions from all over their roster, as eight of the nine Celtics that saw the court would finish with double figures. It was a good day for the Celtics' defense as well, as they held Memphis, a team that averages 116.2 points per game, to just 109.
Memphis entered Sunday averaging 48 rebounds per game, which was good for second in the NBA. Mazzulla got creative with some of the rotations using different pairings of size and it worked very well in the Celtics' favor, as they outrebounded the Grizzlies 60-45, including 14-3 on the offensive glass.
Aside from the first five minutes of the second quarter, this was a wire to wire win for the Celtics, and a game it felt they had control of the whole afternoon.
The Celtics will now be off until Tuesday, when they will take on another big test in the Milwaukee Bucks, who have won their last 10 games and sit just one game behind the Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
