Final: Celtics 122, Grizzlies 116 -- Kyrie carries C's to second straight win.

Kyrie Irving refused to let the Celtics drop another game at home to an inferior opponent on Friday night. The All-Star scored 28 of his 38 points in the second half, helping carry the hosts to their eighth straight win at the TD Garden, a 122-116 victory over the reeling Grizzlies.

It was the ninth 30-point, 10-assist effort of the season for the point guard, who torched whatever defense the Grizzlies threw at him in a back and forth offensive battle. Marcus Smart had one of the best shooting nights of his career with 20 points, knocking down six treys from beyond the arc on a 7-of-9 shooting night, while Boston benefitted from big games from Al Horford (18 points) and Aron Baynes (13 rebounds) to help close the door on a hot shooting Grizz team (43 percent from 3). 

Mike Conley had a team-high 26 points for the Grizzlies, who have now dropped four straight games and ten of their last eleven. Boston will look to extend their winning streak to three on Saturday night against the Hawks in Atlanta.

First Half Notes

• This one was almost a carbon copy to the Raptors game for the first 18 minutes. The starters came out sluggish out of the gate for Boston, with the Grizzlies jumping out to a 21-16 lead behind some hot 3-point shooting and sloppy defense by the C's.


• Jayson Tatum continued his struggles shooting the ball, missing all four of his early shots despite being guardee by the likes of Omri Casspi and Garrett Temple.


• Marcus Smart carried the offense early, knocking down his first four 3s of the night, to bring his season average up to a career-high 36 percent.


• The tide shifted yet again in this one in the second quarter as the C's bench plus Smart (a new rotation shift we wrote about today) rolled to a 21-2 run to build a 12-point lead against the Grizzlies bench. Every single Celtic on the floor brought the energy in the outburst with Brown, Rozier and Smart knocking down 3s, while Baynes providing timely putbacks and solid D.


• The hot spell eventually wore off midway through the quarter and the C's lead quickly dissipated once the starters got back into the game. The Grizzlies went big, took advantage of mismatches and kickouts that helped Memphis shoot 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half.

• The Celtics will have a fully healthy roster for just the second time this season since December 8th.


• The Grizzlies have lost nine of their last 10 games and will be without a couple of key wings in Kyle Anderson (ankle) and Dillon Brooks (toe). New addition Justin Holiday will get the start in place of Anderson.


• Marcus Smart is shooting a career-high 35.6 percent from 3-point range and is in the top-10 in the NBA of players who have improved their true shooting percentage year-over-year from last season.


• Keep an eye on the Celtics bench rotation adjustments after Terry Rozier saw most of his time playing off the ball on Wednesday night with the staggered rest of Irving and Smart.