Celtics take care of business over shorthanded Grizzlies
While Joe Mazzulla embraced the adversity that came from the Celtics’ dismal loss to the Lakers — who were without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis — he also acknowledged they needed to respond to it.
Mazzulla was excited about the opportunity. Saturday’s rare practice day allowed the Celtics to take a “deep breath,” he said, after a hectic schedule. Little did he know, his team had the chance to right the ship under similar circumstances from their last setback.
The Grizzlies were absurdly shorthanded on Sunday. Already down Ja Morant and Marcus Smart, they were also missing stars Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. That wasn’t even half the list. They had 13 players out, and only eight players available, including several players on two-way contracts. The Celtics, like on Thursday, could have relaxed even more than they did then as a 19.5-point favorites.
Ultimately, though, their talent and firepower was too much. Unlike Thursday, they took care of business. Led by 34 points from Jayson Tatum and 26 from Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics got back on track with a dominant 13191 victory over the Grizzlies on an emotional night at TD Garden, where Smart made his return to Boston.
“I thought we did our job,” Mazzulla said. “The game went how it was supposed to go from the standpoint of I thought we played well, we executed, and I thought we came with the right mindset. You can’t not appreciate the times where you just come in, do your job and get out. I think that’s important, you know?
“But the mindset remains the same, whether it’s a win or a loss, it’s still unhealthy to stay attached to it. So we have to get better, and I think that’s the healthy mind frame that we’re trying to stay into.”
Sunday’s win will be remembered for Smart’s return and the several deserving ovations he received throughout this win. The former and beloved Celtics point guard didn’t play as he recovers from a finger injury, but his presence on the floor likely would have hardly mattered in this one alongside a Memphis team that was led by Luke Kennard, G.G. Jackson and several other players who have barely logged any NBA time.
While the final score didn’t suggest it, the Celtics had trouble putting away the Grizzlies early. They led by double digits early in the second quarter before the Grizzlies went on a run that included 3-pointers from Kennard and Jacob Gilyard, who cut their deficit to 40-38 and still trailed by two with 4:55 left in the half after a layup from Jackson. But the C’s responded with a 24-6 run led by Tatum, Porzingis and Derrick White.
The Celtics led by 20 at halftime and never let their advantage get trimmed by less than 16 the rest of the way. Four of the five Celtics starters were able to rest for the entirety of the fourth quarter except for Jrue Holiday, who soon followed them to the bench early in the final period when it was clear the game was out of reach.
“Any chance you can achieve your goal of winning a game and guys staying healthy and not having to play significant minutes, I think that helps, and it saves us a lot of energy to practice on Tuesday,” Mazzulla said.
The lopsided score allowed rookie Jordan Walsh to check into the game with 8:33 remaining in the fourth. He scored his first career points soon after after Oshae Brissett found him for an emphatic dunk in transition.
Walsh finished with two points as he passed up shots to make the right play, and Mazzulla was impressed with his defense, too.
“I think what stood out is his growth as a player and understanding the most important thing is defense,” Mazzulla said. “I loved his defensive positioning and his defensive physicality, and his instincts, and I think that’s gotten a lot better since the beginning of the year, and I think that’s a challenge for any young player, is really buying into the fact that regardless of what you think you are offensively or how it went in college, you have to play defense, you have to learn defense, and he’s done a great job of that.
“And then it’s fun for him too, he got his first two points in the Garden, and he continued to play the right way.”