Before the Celtics departed for their longest road trip of the season, Kristaps Porzingis set what seemed like a lofty goal.
Asked what would make Boston’s six-game West Coast swing a success, the big man replied: “For us, probably 6-0, no?”
Well, mission accomplished.
The Celtics closed out a flawless trip Monday night with a 117-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at FexEd Forum. They won all six games by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 17.8 points. It was the longest unbeaten road trip in franchise history, and improved the Celtics’ road record this season to an NBA-best 32-7.
Their level of competition wasn’t especially daunting – they played five of the bottom six teams in the West standings, and the only outlier, Memphis, just fired its head coach – but the Celtics played all six games without at least one member of their core rotation as head coach Joe Mazzulla lightened his regulars’ workload ahead of the playoffs.
With Jaylen Brown (knee) and Luke Kornet (illness) both sitting out Monday, Boston rode a season-best performance from Al Horford (9-for-18, 26 points, nine rebounds) and strong scoring efforts from Jayson Tatum (25 points), Porzingis (19 points) and Jrue Holiday (18 points).
Derrick White finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks and set the Celtics franchise record for made 3-pointers in a season.
As a team, the Celtics hit 21 threes on a whopping 62 attempts. They assisted on 30 of their 39 made baskets, with White and Holiday combining for 17 of those helpers.
Boston will return to TD Garden on Wednesday, when it hosts the Miami Heat.
Rather than plug de facto sixth starter Horford into Brown’s spot, as the Celtics typically do when any of their top five are unavailable, Mazzulla made the unexpected decision to start Xavier Tillman. The seldom-used big man has been the last player on Boston’s bench since midseason – before Monday, he hadn’t played since March 6 and had logged just 11 total minutes since the All-Star break – but he spent his first 3 1/2 NBA seasons with the Grizzlies, and Mazzulla opted to give him some run against his former team.
Tillman’s outing was brief, however. After making two free throws and missing two open 3-pointers in the opening four minutes, he was replaced by Horford, who quickly drilled a pair of threes. Tillman logged a similar shift early in the second half, then sat the rest of the game. His 0-for-5 showing from deep dropped him to 5-for-32 on the season – the biggest reason why he hasn’t been part of Mazzulla’s regular rotation since October.
Horford and Porzingis combined for 29 points in the first half, exploiting early foul trouble for Grizzlies starting center Zach Edey (three in his first five minutes). But poor shooting from Boston’s backcourt, a rash of Celtics turnovers and some sorcerous shot-making from Ja Morant (7-for-9, 19 points before halftime) helped Memphis build a 10-point second-quarter lead.
But the Celtics responded well. After Mazzulla called a timeout with his team trailing 48-38, Boston ripped off a 10-2 run that included 3-pointers by White and Sam Hauser. White’s snapped a combined 0-for-7 start by him and fellow guards Holiday and Payton Pritchard, and it tied him with Isaiah Thomas for the single-season Celtics record for made threes (245 in 2016-17). He surpassed Thomas later in the game.
Tatum and Pritchard aren’t far behind, by the way. They’ve hit 240 and 237, respectively, for a Celtics team that’s on pace to take and make more threes than any team in NBA history.
Boston outscored Memphis 41-29 in the second quarter and took a 66-61 lead into halftime. Tatum hit a midrange jumper over Scottie Pippen Jr. with 13.1 seconds remaining to cap a 17-point, nine-rebound half.
The Grizzlies opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run, but that, too, was met by a strong Celtics response. Boston scored 20 of the next 26 points, with 11 of those coming from Holiday – the same player Memphis chose to leave uncovered throughout its Dec. 7 win at TD Garden. Holiday shot 4-for-17 from 3-point range in that game. He was 4-for-6 in the rematch, continuing an encouraging recent change for the 34-year-old guard.
Despite playing with a cast on his right pinky for the last three weeks, Holiday is shooting 38.6% from deep since returning from his mallet finger injury and 9-for-13 over his last two games.
The 38-year-old Horford scored 13 during an 11-minute stretch in the second half, including two 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter. His 26 points were his most in a game since Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals
“Al, man. Al played amazing,” Tatum said in a postgame interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “He kept us in it, and he hit some big shots in that second half. We just played off his energy, and we rallied in the last six minutes of that second quarter and got the lead. … Oldest guy on the team, and he has the most energy in the last game of a road trip. We need everybody, and we needed him big tonight. That was a special performance.”
The Celtics led 110-95 midway through the fourth quarter and appeared to be on their way to a comfortable win, but a four-minute scoring drought allowed the Grizzlies to stage a late rally. Memphis cut the lead to seven with less than three minutes remaining after Tatum was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with officials. But an ensuing corner three by White effectively ended that threat, and late free throws by Holiday and Tatum iced Boston’s ninth consecutive win.
With just seven games left before the postseason, the Celtics are peaking at the right time. Since losing at home to Dallas on Feb. 6, they’re 20-3 with 16 wins by double digits. Two of those losses came against their top NBA championship challengers: by six to the Oklahoma City Thunder and by seven to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And that’s despite missing at least one rotation player in at least 21 of those games (and at least one starter in 19).
“I’m feeling great (about the team),” Tatum told Chin. “We’re trending in the right direction at the right time. Hopefully we get everyone back healthy and keep this thing going. It’s almost time for war.”
Originally Published: March 31, 2025 at 9:54 PM EDT
