During the Sunday NBA slate, the Boston Celtics defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 119-109 behind 23 points and 10 assists from Derrick White.
Among the other Boston scorers were Sam Hauser, who tied his career high with six 3-pointers, Al Horford with 16 points, and Payton Pritchard with 12. Jayson Tatum finished with 16 points while shooting 1 of 8 on three-point attempts and just 3 of 16 from the floor.
“That’s the beauty of this team,” White said. “We’re just so deep. We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a little bit of everything.”
In addition to Morant’s 25 points and seven assists, Desmond Bane scored 18 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Marcus Smart missed his 10th straight game with a bone bruise in his right ankle, as did Jaylen Brown (facial fracture caused by an elbow by Tatum) and Malcolm Brogdon (sore Achilles).
On Tuesday, the Celtics will play the Milwaukee Bucks for the Eastern Conference’s best record. Boston is 1.5 games in front of the Bucks in the standings.
Within just over four minutes of the end of the game, the Celtics moved ahead 104-94, thanks to a 16-7 spurt that saw White score six points – both three-point plays.
“We have some of our top dogs out now, and it’s just an opportunity for guys to showcase what they can do,” Hauser said. “Try to fill that void of the guys that were out. They bring a lot to the table. We try to do our best to do whatever we can to help the team win.”
Within the last five minutes, Horford made three 3-pointers, which proved to be the difference. Morant’s 13 points in the third quarter allowed the Grizzlies to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit, taking the lead briefly late in the quarter. Despite the loss, the All-Star guard remains confident in his team.
“The confidence I had when I said that is the confidence that got us to the point where we’re at now — being one of the top teams in this league,” Morant said.
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