National Basketball Association
Boston 122, Memphis 107
When: 5:00 PM ET, Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Where: AdventHealth Arena, Orlando, Florida
Officials:
#54 Ray Acosta, #74 Curtis Blair, #42 Eric Lewis
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, Kemba Walker added 19 and the Boston Celtics handed the Memphis Grizzlies a devastating 122-107 defeat Tuesday night near Orlando.
Tatum and Walker combined to shoot 17-of-23 from the floor as the Celtics (48-23) won their fourth straight game. Walker's 19 points were the most he's had in six games since the season restart. Gordon Hayward also scored 19.
Ja Morant had 26 points and 13 assists, and Jonas Valanciunas (14 points, 10 rebounds) also had a double-double for the Grizzlies (33-39), who lost their secured grip on the eighth seed in the Western Conference with their sixth defeat in seven seeding games.
With the setback, Memphis dropped to a three-way tie for eighth in the West along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns with one game remaining, while the San Antonio Spurs are just one percentage point behind in a virtual tie with the trio.
The eighth and ninth teams in the conference will face each other in a guaranteed play-in series this weekend to determine who clinches the No. 8 seed.
The Grizzlies cut a 16-point deficit at halftime down to eight 61-53 on a three-point play from Gorgui Dieng with 7:43 left in the third quarter. The Celtics responded with a 10-3 run to regain control and maintained a double-digit lead at 83-73 heading into the fourth.
Memphis was back within 88-78 with just over 10 minutes remaining before Grant Williams and Brad Wanamaker nailed threes for a 94-80 Boston edge. The Grizzlies failed to get back within single digits the rest of the way, trailing by as much as 20 down the stretch.
Leading 24-17 after one, the Celtics blew the game open with an 11-0 run to begin the second quarter. Boston's lead surpassed 20 at 42-21 on two free throws from Wanamaker with 6:58 remaining in the half.
The Grizzlies battled back within 53-40 on a Valanciunas tip-in with 25.1 seconds to go, but a foul on Walker behind the arc with 1.1 ticks left allowed the Celtics to take a 56-40 advantage into the break.
Tatum led all first-half scorers with 17 points. Morant paced Memphis with 10.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Boston |
|
Memphis |
|
Jayson Tatum 29 |
Scoring |
Ja Morant 26 |
|
Marcus Smart 9 |
Assists |
Ja Morant 13 |
|
Enes Kanter 8 |
Rebounds |
Jonas Valanciunas 10 |
|
Jayson Tatum 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Ja Morant 11 |
|
Jaylen Brown 1 |
Steals |
Gorgui Dieng 3 |
|
Robert Williams III 3 |
Blocks |
Ja Morant 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Boston
|
122 |
51.2 |
16-37 |
18-23 |
29 |
46 |
7 |
7 |
15 |
| Memphis
|
107 |
39.3 |
7-29 |
30-38 |
26 |
44 |
4 |
8 |
8 |
Upcoming Games
-
Memphis will play their next game at home against Milwaukee. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .421 after a loss.
-
Boston will play their next game at home against Washington. The Celtics have a W/L % of .702 after a win and .625 after a loss.
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