BSJ Game Report: Celtics 109, Grizzlies 106 - Tatum, Smart brilliant to lead Celtics to third straight win

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Memphis Grizzlies with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out a little slow while the Grizzlies shot the lights out in the first quarter. Jayson Tatum took over in the second, dropping 19 while the C’s ran off a 20-0 run. The teams traded places with Ja Morant having an MVP quarter in the third to give the Grizzlies the lead. Jaylen Brown woke up from a bad game to help fuel a Celtics lead and the Celtics held on despite the Grizzlies making a furious late comeback.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Attacking pays off: The Celtics didn’t have it going from 3 today (12-27, 32.4%), but they made up that efficiency at the free-throw line, getting 28 free throws. I wrote in the preview that “attacking the paint could lead to free throws and putbacks all night,” and it did with Boston outsourcing the Grizzlies by 13 at the free throw line. 

Smart brilliance: In his last two games, Smart has 23 assists and 3 turnovers. The passes he was seeing on the floor were incredible. Smart has been almost perfect in this role the last two games.

Tatum levels up: He dropped 39 but only shot 3-11 on his 3-pointers. That's actually a good thing because it shows he can still score without getting hot from deep. He played at an MVP level for most of this game.

Ja dropper: Morant did too. I just have to acknowledge how good this guy is. He got cold at the end and the two missed free throws were killers late in the game, but he was the only reason Memphis had a shot in this game. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics turned a 90-all tie into a 10-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. It gave them a lead juuuuuust big enough to hold on

THREE UP

Jayson Tatum: Another 16 free throw attempts for Tatum. I’ll harp on this all the time: Tatum spent a long time thinking he could grift his way to the free-throw line when all he ever needed to do was play through the contact. I bet if you Google Tatum and “play through contact,” you’ll find half the articles I’ve ever written about him. He finished with 39 points on 12-25 shooting and it was almost all done at the rim. 

Marcus Smart: I don’t know what has gotten into Smart, but bottle this and keep it all season long. 15 points on 6-11 shooting, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, and a couple of offensive fouls drawn, including a huge on Morant. 

Al Horford: He very quietly had 15 points on 6-7 shooting (3-3 3pt), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. 

TWO DOWN

Noah Vonleh: Guess who set another illegal screen tonight? He’s a foul machine, and there's no middle ground with him. He’s either helpful, or he’s unplayable. 

Grant Williams: He started, played 37:36, and took ZERO shots. He made some plays and his night wasn’t all bad, but after all the great stuff he’s shown in his first eight games of the season, it’s a mystery as to why he’d just turtle as a starter. 

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Grant Williams performance raises a question

This is only one game with Williams as a starter, but considering there is some chatter about Wiliams sliding into Horford’s starting role at some point either this season or next, every performance with the starting unit is going to be scrutinized. 

Zero shots is wild to me, especially from a guy they’ve relied on to make contributions to the offensive end. 

I’ll have to go watch his minutes over again and see where things went wrong for him, but Brian Scalabrine said during the broadcast that there is some feeling that Williams gets passive as a starter. 

That's understandable considering he might be the fifth option in that starting unit, but he’s good enough to look for at least some of his shots. If there's any passivity in his game as a starter, that will have to go away in a hurry. 

He’s earning himself a lot of money with how he’s been playing, but if there's any question about whether he’s a different player as a starter, it could be used against him in contract negotiations. 

- I’m impressed with Jaylen Brown shaking off a bad three quarters when it mattered

Brown didn’t have a good game, but his stretch at the start of the fourth where he finished a layup, drew a foul, snuck up behind John Konchar for a steal, and then later finished another layup was part of turning a deficit into a five-point lead. 

Brown scored 14 points on 6-17 shooting with 5 turnovers, 1 assist, and was a -10 through the first three quarters. He scored 7 points in 2-3 shooting with 2 turnovers, 1 assist, and 1 steal and was a +7 in the fourth. 

In the past, Brown would let those first three quarters just ruin his night. That fourth-quarter stretch of his was a real game-changer. He had a couple of bad plays at the end of the game when the Grizzlies were making their big comeback, so his night still wasn’t great overall, but I’m still impressed he found himself enough to make meaningful contributions to a win. 

Next up: The Celtics host the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 on Wednesday night.