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Key Moment
Al Horford sat patiently on the visitor's bench at FedEx Forum for the majority of the fourth quarter Saturday night, as his Boston Celtics stormed back from a 19-point deficit against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Boston's veteran big man was facing a 25-minute restriction due to a sore left knee, and having allotted him more than 18 minutes through the first three frames, head coach Brad Stevens opted to save the five-time All-Star for crunch time.
By the time the game clock hit 4:51, Boston had pulled within two points of the Grizzlies. Now was the moment to let Horford loose.
Trailing 93-91, the Celtics immediately got a boost from their starting center as soon as he stepped foot on the floor.
Horford grabbed a rebound on Boston's first defensive possession and seven seconds later he fed Kyrie Irving for a game-tying lay-up on the other end.
Then, it was time for Horford to do some scoring of his own.
Two possessions after Irving's make, Horford converted an and-one lay-up that gave Boston a 96-94 lead. Shortly thereafter, he knocked down a 3-pointer that would put Boston ahead by four. And with 35 seconds left, he hit the game-sealing dagger – a 26-footer from the top of the 3-point arc to give the Celtics a 108-101 lead.
Horford would wind up scoring or assisting on 11 of Boston's 21 points during the final 4:06 of play, as he made the most of his limited minutes while helping to lead his Celtics to a 112-103 win.
Key Player
Kyrie Irving, much like Horford, saved his offensive outpour for when things mattered most Saturday night.
Boston's point guard was limited to just four points on 1-of-4 shooting during the first half, but that was all forgotten by game's end. Irving poured in 22 points during the second half on 7-of-12 shooting to tie his counterpart, Mike Conley, for the game-high in points (26).
What set Irving apart from Conley was his facilitation. He more than doubled Conley's six-assist effort with 13 helpers, trying his career high in a Celtics uniform.
Irving also corralled four rebounds, shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, and had a game-best plus-minus of plus-14
Box Score Nuggets
- Starting point guards Kyrie Irving and Mike Conley matched each other for the game-high in points with 26 apiece
- Irving dished out a season-high-tying 13 assists.
- As a team, the Celtics handed out 29 assists on 40 field goals.
- Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart snagged four steals apiece.
- Boston shot exactly 50 percent from the field on 80 attempts.
- Both teams corralled 36 rebounds.
- Guerschon Yabusele led all shot-blockers with two swats in 16 minutes.
- The Celtics made 16 shots from both the free-throw line and from the 3-point line.
- Grizzlies center Marc Gasol handed out 10 assists, to go along with 15 points.
- Boston trailed by as many as 19 points.
- Al Horford tied a career-high with five makes from 3-point land.
Quote of the Night
Kyrie Irving on finishing with 26 points after scoring just four in the first half.