With Jayson Tatum ruled out due to an illness and Kemba Walker on his back-to-back rest schedule, the Boston Celtics needed contributions from unexpected places to have a chance in Memphis.
The unexpected contribution came from Jeff Teague’s 26 points as Jaylen Brown expectedly led the way with 27 of his own, but while the scrappy Celtics came back to force overtime it was the Grizzlies with the last push for a 132-126 win.
After a solid first half for the shorthanded Celtics led to a five-point Boston lead, Ja Morant and the Grizzlies took over in the third quarter as the young point guard led the way with 9 points in the period.
Memphis secured an eight-point cushion heading into the fourth quarter, but the Celtics would not go away. Trailing by four with under a minute left, it was Marcus Smart time in the clutch. A layup and then a lob to Daniel Theis with seven seconds left tied the game at 117. Morant’s jumper for the win fell short and Boston forced overtime.
For Memphis, the closer in overtime was Dillon Brooks as the Oregon product added to his 24 points with the first bucket of the period and a clutch and-one to create separation.
Boston fought without two starters, but ultimately fell to 21-22 on the year as Memphis improved to 20-20. Next up for the Celtics is a road test against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.