White’s 23 points helps Celtics past Grizzlies, 119-109
BOSTON — 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 career-high with six 3-pointers, Al Horford had 16 points and Payton Pritchard added 12 for 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 points and seven rebounds.
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.
The Celtics were clinging to a one-point lead early in the final quarter before White scored six points — with a conventional three-point play and 3-pointer from the right wing — during a 16-7 spurt that moved them ahead 10494.
RAPTORS 119, PISTONS 118
TORONTO — Fred VanVleet scored 35 points, topping 30 for a career-best ninth time this season, and Pascal Siakam added 28 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons 119-118 Sunday for their 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.
“That hurt,” VanVleet. “Everyone was frustrated for sure, but the game goes on. We’ve got to stay focussed on the games in front of us and pile them up as best as we can.”
Toronto is 20-7 all-time when VanVleet scores 30 or more points. Siakam has scored 25 or more in three straight games.
“It’s certainly a treat to have two guys out there who you can coach the team through,” said Toronto assistant coach Adrian Griffin, who led the Raptors Sunday with head coach Nick Nurse away for personal reasons.
Detroit’s Dwane Casey worked with both Siakam and VanVleet when he was head coach in Toronto.
“They were the difference in the game,” Casey said.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 33 points, Alec Burks had 21, and Hamidou Diallo and Jaden Ivey each had 18 for the Pistons.