Shorthanded Celtics hold off the Grizzlies
Derrick White scored 23 points to help a shorthanded Boston team hold off Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies 119-109 on Sunday.
Sam Hauser added 20 points, tying his careerhigh with six 3-pointers, Al Horford had 16 points and Payton Pritchard added 12 for host Boston, which won its fourth straight. Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t have his sharpest game, finishing with 16 points but making 3 of 16 shots and missing 7 of 8 on 3-point attempts.
“That’s the beauty of this team,” said White, who also had 10 assists. “We’re just so deep. We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a little bit of everything.”
Morant led the Grizzlies with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Desmond Bane scored 18 and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 pointss.
Boston was without starting point guard Marcus Smart, who missed his 10th straight with a bone bruise in his right ankle, as well as forward Jaylen Brown (facial fracture he suffered from an inadvertent elbow by Tatum) and reserve guard Malcolm
Brogdon (sore Achilles).
Boston moved to 1 1/2 games ahead of the idle Bucks for the Eastern Conference’s best record ahead of their matchup in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
RAPTORS 119, PISTONS 118 >>
Fred VanVleet scored 35 points, topping 30 for a career-best ninth time this season, and Pascal Siakam added 28 points as Toronto beat visiting Detroit for its fourth win in five games.
Scottie Barnes scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Toronto won its second straight win over Detroit after losing the previous six meetings.
VanVleet and the Raptors bounced back after blowing a 12-point lead in the final five minutes of Friday’s home loss to Utah.