Grizzlies-Celtics Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Feb 04 2012 3:10PM

The Memphis Grizzlies had some late trouble defending the 3-point shot their last time out, and now they have to face the team that's the best at making them.

The Grizzlies wrap up a three-game road trip Sunday afternoon when they face a Boston Celtics team that is 0-4 against Western Conference opponents.

Memphis (12-11) missed a chance at a three-game win streak with Friday's 101-94 loss at Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies were outscored 32-17 in the fourth quarter as they allowed the Thunder to make 4 of 7 3-pointers.

"They were driving to the basket well," coach Lionel Hollins said. "So you are in a stance playing drive defense and they rise up and shot a 3. That's just the way it goes."

Boston (12-10) should present a stiff challenge with its NBA-best 42.7 3-point percentage. The Celtics made 7 of 13 3s in the first half Friday, but still needed to rally from a six-point deficit at the break in an 91-89 home win over New York.

"We weren't playing well," coach Doc Rivers said. "A lot of our 3s came out of loose balls, picking them up and making shots."

Boston has won six of seven by shooting 47.6 percent overall. Friday's 40.8 percent effort was the Celtics' worst of that stretch.

"It's good when you find a way to win," said Paul Pierce, who scored a game-high 30. "Things really weren't going our way."

Rajon Rondo, among the NBA leaders with 9.2 assists per game, returned to the lineup and had seven points, seven assists and five boards after missing the previous eight with a right wrist injury.

"Rajon is one of the toughest people I have ever been around," forward Kevin Garnett said. "Just to see his grit and the way he goes at things. Man, I am talking about a fighter."

Boston also is the NBA's best at defending the 3 at 29.4 percent.

Rondo totaled 28 assists, 17 points, 16 rebounds and nine steals in two meetings with Memphis last season as the visiting team won each time. Pierce averaged 25.0 points on 65.2 percent shooting in those games.

While Boston has yet to beat a team from the West, Memphis has won four straight against East foes by an average margin of 15.7 points. The Grizzlies have won their last two at Boston.

Hollins, though, has seen his team shoot 40.4 percent during a stretch in which it has lost five of seven. The Grizzlies shot 42.5 percent Friday, including 27.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

"We started taking too many jump shots as we were coming down the stretch, but my guys played really hard," Hollins said. "They left it out there and they didn't have enough in the tank coming down the stretch."

Marc Gasol had 24 points and eight boards while Rudy Gay added 23 points.

"Tonight wasn't about effort," Gasol said. "We did a good job throughout the whole game. It was more about executing, mentally you know, playing through our mistakes. With that kind of effort, we're going to be OK."

Former Celtics guard Tony Allen is averaging 17.3 points in his last three games for Memphis. Allen played for Boston from 2004-10.

Garnett carries Celtics to 4th straight win

Posted Feb 05 2012 6:19PM

BOSTON (AP) Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers could see that Kevin Garnett was looking and feeling spry.

Running the floor and looking strong on the glass, the 35-year-old Garnett matched his season-high with 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Celtics to their fourth straight win, a 98-80 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

"He was feeling good. It's a still a kids' game. He was having fun," Rivers said of Garnett, a 14-time All-Star. "He was having a ball playing today and you don't want to tell him you have to come in because the lights are on, so we let him play in the dark a little bit."

Garnett was 9 of 12 from the field, including his third 3-pointer of the season on three tries. He hit one in Friday's win over New York.

"He's shooting it well," Rivers said, before joking about Garnett's recent 3-point success. "Gives us another option at the end of the game - don't tell him that."

Paul Pierce scored 21 points, moving nine behind Hall of Famer Larry Bird for second place on the club's all-time list, and Ray Allen added 12. Rajon Rondo had 14 assists and reserve Chris Wilcox chipped in with 12 points.

Boston took charge with a 21-7 run early in the fourth quarter that turned a six-point lead to 90-70 on Garnett's jumper.

Relying on a combination of reserves and two of their usual stars - Garnett and Pierce - the Celtics controlled the glass and outran the Grizzlies for transition baskets.

"I thought we put together some really good runs and got the ball moving," Pierce said.

Rudy Gay paced the Grizzlies with 21 points and seven rebounds, and O.J. Mayo scored 15 points for Memphis, which has lost six of eight.

The Celtics led by six points at halftime and pushed it to double digits (53-43) on Pierce's two free throws midway into the third. Boston relied on some hot long-range shooting in the third quarter, hitting 5 of its first 6 from behind the 3-point line to keep Memphis from coming back until Gay scored three consecutive baskets late in the period.

"The key to the game was that we didn't get back on defense. They had 26 fast break points on us and that was huge, and they controlled the glass," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "We turned them over but we couldn't get the easy transition buckets. They got back on defense and forced us to play half court, and they did a good job defensively."

Allen hit three shots from beyond the arc and was fouled on one, hitting the free throw that made it 62-51. Pierce and Garnett also hit 3s, with Garnett's bringing a loud ovation from the crowd.

"I can shoot 3s," Garnett said. "Everyone's acting like I'm 50 and out here on one leg. I don't shoot 3s because we have one of the all-time greatest 3-point shooters in the history of the league (Allen), we have Paul Pierce who has won 3-point contests, we have other guys who can shoot 3. That ain't my role here. My role is to get those guys open and shoot it, dunk it, pass it, whatever to get us going. But, I can shoot 3s."

The Grizzlies knew they were in trouble.

"They got on a run right before the end of the quarter," Memphis guard Mike Conley said. "Ray Allen hit that corner 3 and we couldn't recover."

The Celtics held a 69-61 lead entering the final quarter.

Boston led 43-37 at halftime after the teams traded large second-quarter runs. The Grizzlies opened the period by scoring 16 of the first 19 points, taking a 32-27 lead on Dante Cunningham's jumper.

After Rivers called time out, his team responded with a 16-2 run - highlighted by a 7-0 spurt that was capped by a 3 by Allen from the left corner and Jermaine O'Neal coming down the lane for a dunk after a nice feed from Rondo, who had 10 assists in the opening half.

NOTES: Garnett also had 24 points in a New Year's Day win over Washington. ... O'Neal went to the locker room briefly late in the third quarter. ... Memphis guard and former Celtic Tony Allen didn't play because of a sore hip and knee, but he was in uniform on the bench. ... Rivers said F Brandon Bass was out with "swelling of the knee." Rivers didn't make it sound like it was serious. "I think it's an accumulation of a lot of games," he said. ... The game started just after noon. "I don't like `em," Rivers said of the earlier start. "I like them on the road. I think it favors the road team. You get on the bus and get ready." ... Bird had 21,791 points. Hall of Famer John Havlicek tops the Celtics' all-time scoring list with 26,395. ... Rondo played his second straight game after missing eight with a sore right wrist. He wasn't wearing a brace like he did in Friday's win over New York. ... Gay came down awkwardly after hitting a jumper and limped for a few seconds, but stayed in the game.

Notebook: Celtics 98, Grizzlies 80

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday February 5, 2012 4:21PM

THE FACTS: Kevin Garnett tied his season-high with 24 points, as the Boston Celtics cruised to their third straight win with a 98-80 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Paul Pierce chipped in a balanced line with 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists as Boston has appeared to hit its stride, winning eight of its last nine games overall. The C's effort was highlighted by their defense, as they limited Memphis all night around the basket holding the Grizz to just 36.8 percent shooting, and just 34 points in the paint. Keyed by Garnett's 15 points after halftime, Boston's offense rounded into form with 55 second half points overall, allowing the C's to take complete command of the contest in fourth quarter. Rudy Gay had 21 points and seven rebounds for Memphis, as they have now dropped six of their last eight games.

QUOTABLE: "Defense is key the last three weeks for us. Our guys have bought into it. To see everybody talking --that's nice from a coach standpoint when you can hear all the talking. It can't get better than that."
-- Doc Rivers

THE STAT: Memphis usually prides itself on its defense, but the Grizzlies struggled to get back defensively early and often Sunday and the Celtics made them pay for it. Boston finished with a season-high 26 fast break points, a number head coach Lionel Hollins called the key to the game.

TURNING POINT: A quick 7-0 spurt by the Celtics over a minute stretch early in the fourth quarter pushed Boston's lead to 13. After the outburst, Memphis was unable to get the deficit below double-digits over the final nine minutes of the contest

QUOTABLE II: "We just played terrible in transition, they got too many opportunities. Rondo pushed the ball and found guys in the open court and was able to get them going early. It's tough to come back from that."
-- Mike Conley

HOT: Chris Wilcox -- The veteran big man went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field Sunday, providing Boston with a major spark off the bench. Wilcox was especially effective early on, as he tallied 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter. The reserve center also finished with five rebounds in an extremely efficient 11 minutes of action.

NOT: Marc Gasol -- The Grizzlies looked to their Spanish center early and often against the Celtics, but Boston's vaunted defense kept him frustrated all afternoon. Gasol had six of his season-high seven turnovers in the first half, and managed just seven points on 3-of-14 shooting in a effort reflective.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Garnett -- The former All-Star had his best all-around game of the season with nine rebounds to go along with his 24 points.

QUOTABLE III: "When I walk around the streets, you all can stop acting like you're shocked that I can shoot three's. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the world, everybody in Minnesota, LA, wherever I'm at, Concord, Lexington, Burlington. I can shoot three's. Let that go. I can shoot three's."
-- Garnett on hitting 3-pointers in three consecutive games.

ROOKIE WATCH: JaJuan Johnson -- The former Purdue star made the most of his extended opportunity on the floor with Brandon Bass sidelined with a knee injury. Johnson had 10 points and four rebounds in a career high 22 minutes.

NOTABLE: Tony Allen was a very late scratch for Memphis with a sore knee and hip. Sam Young started in his place. Bass is day-to-day with sore left knee. He told reporters he planned on playing Tuesday night against Charlotte. ... With his 21 points, Pierce is now just nine points short of tying Larry Bird for second place on the Celtics all-time scoring list. ... After missing their first nine 3-point attempts, Boston heated up, hitting seven of their final 11 shots from beyond the arc. ... Marquis Daniels (ankle) and Keyon Dooling (hip) also did not dress for Boston. ... The Grizzlies had assists on just 13 of their 32 field goals. Boston moved the ball extremely well offensively, finishing with 28 assists as a team on 36 field goals. Rajon Rondo tied a season-high with 14 assists. ... The victory was Boston's first over a Western Conference this season. Prior to Sunday, the C's had dropped games against New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Monday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday vs. Minnesota, Friday vs. Indiana. For the Celtics, Tuesday vs. Charlotte, Thursday vs. LA Lakers, Friday @ Toronto

• Grizzlies: Arthur, Randolph
• Celtics: Daniels, Dooling

• Grizzlies: Mayo
• Celtics: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #29 Mark Lindsay, #64 SirAllen Connor
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 2:12