Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 119-95 win over the Grizzlies with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Celtics erupt in second quarter for dominant win: The Celtics have played a lot of impressive basketball this season but no two quarters have been as dominant as the middle two frames against Memphis. The hosts outscored Memphis 74-36 to erase an early deficit and turn the majority of the second half with garbage time. Jayson Tatum led the way with a game-high 23 points and 7 rebounds before exiting with a groin strain (more on that later). Five players finished in double figures in total as a balanced scoring effort and hot shooting from 3-point range (43 percent) gave the C’s their second straight win at home. While the offense was impressive, the defense against Ja Morant (2 points, 1-of-5 FG) and Jaren Jackson (13 points on 5-of-15 FG) shooting, which helped the C’s sustain the type of effort they showed on Monday night against the Lakers.
Jayson Tatum suffers right groin strain: One of the best performances of Tatum’s season came to a premature halt in the third quarter when Tatum pulled up lame on a drive. He headed straight to the locker room while walking gingerly before being diagnosed with a right groin strain. The good news? Tatum returned to the bench with a wrapped right thigh after the injury, something that probably wouldn’t have happened with a serious strain. Still, it’s safe to assume Tatum will be missing some length of time with the injury given how much of a limp he was walking with. Jaylen Brown also missed this game with a sprained ankle but he is expected to be back sometime this weekend. Tatum’s absence could go far longer than that. Brad Stevens did not sound too concerned after the game but he will have imaging done on the injury tomorrow.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics were struggling to find offense for the first 17 minutes of this contest before they locked in for one of their most impressive stretches of the season to close out the second quarter with a 23-0 run. Boston held Memphis scoreless for nearly seven minutes over that stretch to turn a seven-point deficit into a blowout.
TWO UP
Daniel Theis: The German big man tied his career-high with three makes from beyond the arc on his way to 14 points in 19 minutes. He was also on the floor for the entirety of the C’s game-changing run, serving as a terrific rim protector and help defender over that stretch.
Jayson Tatum: This was one of the best two-way performances of the season for the third-year forward who finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in just 26 minutes before going down with a groin strain. His play on the defensive team was stellar as well as he posted 2 steals and a block along with numerous deflections during the middle two periods to help turn the game into a laugher.
TWO DOWN
Kemba Walker: The All-Star struggled to find a rhythm in this one, especially in the first half as he missed his first seven shots of the night before drilling two 3s. He finished with 8 points and 4 assists in 26 minutes on 2-of-9 shooting.
Celtics offense over the first nine minutes: The Celtics brought the defensive intensity out of the gate early in this one but still could not find the bottom of the net in the first nine minutes, starting the contest 4-of-17 from the field and 1-of-9 from 3-point range.
TOP PLAY
OKAY THEN MARCUS pic.twitter.com/JoK6Jflqsv
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 23, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
This was one of the best defensive stretches of the season for this group: The Grizzlies have been one of the best offensive teams in the league as of late and the Celtics just suffocated them in the middle two quarters, holding them to just nine points over their 41-9 run spread over a 12-minute stretch in those frames. Ja Morant was limited to just two points by the length of Tatum and Smart while the C’s sharp rotations and help sequences remained as sharp as they were against the Lakers on Monday night. We probably won’t be able to see this level of defense for a bit if Tatum is going to miss extended time but this was a promising effort for a team that had been struggling with consistency for the better part of the past month. Reverting back to a lackluster effort would have taken away from the luster of the Lakers win. Sustaining it the way we saw tonight is something to build on.
This is rough timing to lose Tatum if he ’s out for a bit: The third-year forward has been the best player on the floor for the Celtics over the last few games now as he was cementing his All-Star case with two-way performances. Brad Stevens did not sound too worried about his condition after the game but groin injuries are usually tricky so the C’s will clearly be cautious with their young star. Jaylen Brown does plan on traveling with the team for the three-game road trip but there will be lots of tests awaiting against lots of opponents with plenty of length on the perimeter in Orlando, Miami and New Orleans. The Celtics will need big minutes from Semi Ojeleye, Grant Williams and Brad Wanamaker in his absence. All three looked sharp in Wednesday’s win but doing against playoff level competition on the road is a far tougher task.