A thrilling, come-from-behind performance led the Grizzlies to a 101-98 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday evening at FedExForum.
Memphis outscored Boston 33-22 in the final frame to complete a comeback from 21 down in the second half. The Grizzlies improved to 21-18 on their regular season slate, while the Celtics fell to 19-19 on the season.
Zach Randolph had a big night on the boards, pulling down 13 rebounds and contributing a team-high 25 points, marking his 10th double-double of the season. Mario Chalmers tallied 18 points, dished out four assists and grabbed five rebounds on the night.
Tony Allen finished the game tying a season-high with 15 points and a season-best 10 rebounds, notching his first double-double of the season. Marc Gasol chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds, recording his eighth double-double of the season, while Matt Barnes contributed 12 points and snatched nine rebounds of his own.
Overall, Memphis set season highs with 58 rebounds and 21 offensive boards. The Grizzlies outrebounded the Celtics 58-39 for the game and 35-14 in the second half.
On the other side, it was Isaiah Thomas who led all scorers with 35 points and dished out eight assists for the Celtics. Avery Bradley and Amir Johnson each finished with 14 points, with Johnson recording a team-high nine rebounds. Jae Crowder and Jared Sullinger chipped in 10 points and 11 points, respectively.
The Celtics demonstrated a strong first quarter performance to lead the Grizzlies 34-16 entering the second period. Although Memphis outscored Boston during the second frame (22-19), the Celtics maintained a 53-38 lead into the half.
With 50 seconds remaining in the game and the Grizzlies down by one point, a Barnes put-back lay-up edged Memphis over Boston to a 93-92 lead, the final lead change of the night.
The Grizzlies continue their longest homestand of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 12 when they host the Houston Rockets. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and fans can watch the game on FOX Sports Southeast or listen in on 92.9 FM ESPN.
Key Stat of the Night
- Memphis outscored Boston 33-22 in the fourth quarter and 63-45 after halftime to overcome a 21-point second-half deficit… The Grizzlies outrebounded the Celtics by 19, recording a season-high 58 boards to Boston’s 39… The Grizzlies won the rebounding battle 16-8 in the fourth and 35-14 in the second half.
Key Runs of the Night
- Memphis recorded the first basket of the night – a Tony Allen three-pointer – but Boston scored the next 12 points and jumped out to a 19-4 run to start the game… Boston led by as many as 18 points in the first half.
- Trailing by as many as 21 in the second half, the Grizzlies scored 14 straight to cut the deficit to five (63-58) with 4:42 left in the third quarter.
- Down nine (83-74) with 7:12 left in the game, the Grizzlies scored eight in a row to pull within one point (83-82) and eventually took their second lead of the game with a Marc Gasol three-point play that made the score 87-85 with 3:49 on the clock… Neither team led by more than two points afterward until Memphis scored six straight to take a five-point edge (97-92) with 27.9 seconds left.
- The Grizzlies led 101-96 with 9.7 seconds remaining when Isaiah Thomas drew two free throws to pull within three… Thomas then stole the ball with 3.9 seconds on the clock… As the buzzer sounded, he drained a triple that would have sent the game into overtime but was released after the final horn.
Quotes
Player Notes
- Zach Randolph totaled 25 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes off the bench, notching his tenth double-double of the season… Randolph is averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds over his last four contests, including tonight… Of the four games in the NBA this season in which a bench player has recorded at least 25 points and at least 10 rebounds, Randolph has two (26 points, 18 rebounds on Jan. 4 at Portland).
- Tony Allen tallied a season-high 15 points and a season-best 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
- Mario Chalmers posted 18 points, five rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes in his second start of the season… Chalmers made 11 of his 13 free throw attempts.
- Marc Gasol (11 points, 11 rebounds) chipped in with his eighth double-double of the season.
- Isaiah Thomas scored 13 of his 35 points in the first quarter… Tonight marked Thomas’ 23rd game of the season with 20-or-more points and his third with at least 30 points.
Next Home Game
The Grizzlies' homestand continues on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets at 7PM.