The Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA, winning seven of their previous eight games heading into a pivotal road matchup against the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
It is always difficult to beat the defending champs at home, but the Grizzlies pulled it off, winning 127-121. The Grizzlies were led by star point guard Ja Morant with 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, dropping a near triple-double to take down the championship favorites.
The Celtics had a relative off-night, shooting 30 percent from deep and 40 percent from the field. Superstar forward Jayson Tatum underperformed, dropping 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists on poor 6-21 shooting from the field and 1-10 from three-point range.
Tatum’s co-star and reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown had a fine night shooting the basketball but racked up 5 turnovers to go along with his 22 points and 6 assists. Brown was very disappointed in his and the Celtics’ performance on Saturday, getting honest with the media following their loss to the Grizzlies.
“We wasn’t strong enough with the basketball,” Brown said. “I wasn’t. I was way too casual.”
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It is certainly hard to pin Boston’s loss on Jaylen Brown, considering he was the only starter who seemed to be able to hit his shots. Brown shot 10-14 from the field and 2-3 from deep, being the only Celtics starter who shot over 50 percent in either category.
The Grizzlies definitely deserved to leave Boston with a win after their strong performance, but Boston’s abundance of three-point attempts really cost them the game. The Celtics shot 60 threes, only making 18 of them. In a game where the turnover and rebound battles were even, the Celtics were simply too careless with their shot selection.
