The Boston Celtics dropped their fifth game of the season on Saturday when they were defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies 127-121.
The Celtics let the Grzziles get back in the contest after being up by as many as 14 points in the second half. Memphis rallied and led 117-115 with less than four minutes to play. The Grizzlies then scored seven straight to get it back up to 124-115 and were able to close it out.
The Grizzlies were the better team on Saturday, but Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis believes Memphis wasn’t physical despite the loss.
After the game, Porziņģis was not impressed with the Grizzlies physicality after the loss.
“I didn’t feel like they were crazy physical. I feel like other teams maybe are even a little bit better than them. I think they just had a specific game plan, which caught us off guard, of course. That’s how it is. Teams want to throw all kinds of crazy stuff at us to try and rob a game. It is what it is. Good game-plan. Honestly, we didn’t make shots. Normal shots. Caught us off guard a little bit.”
The Grizzlies proved to be the more physical team as they recorded one more rebound, 52-51. The Grizzlies recorded 11 offensive rebounds compared to the Celtics’ 15, and they beat them on the board on the defensive side, 41-36.
Not only did the Grizzlies win the rebounding battle, but they also won points in the paint battle, and it wasn’t even close. Memphis outscored Boston 64-40 in the paint.
Porziņģis did his part in the game, recording 19 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the field, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks in 33 minutes.
Porziņģis is starting to get his footing under him, and it’s been a great sight for the Celtics.
The entire Celtics starting five scored in double figures, but it wasn’t enough from their star players. The duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown only combined for 39 points on 16-of-35 shooting from the field.
The Celtics lost for the first time this season on the second night of a back-to-back (4-1).
Boston will look to bounce back strongly when it faces the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday at home. Boston now has a 19-5 record and a 10-3 record at home.
