The 98-80 win offered little intrigue down the stretch and allowed most of the 18,624 on hand, many sporting Patriots jerseys, to head early to their Super Bowl parties. The Celtics took care of business early for their eighth win in nine games.
Garnett led the way with 24 points, including his third 3-pointer in three games, while Rajon Rondo had 14 assists in his second game back from his wrist injury. Yet the standout was rookie JaJuan Johnson, who replaced Brandon Bass, who missed the game with a sore left knee. Johnson contributed 10 points in 22 minutes, giving the Celtics some rare athleticism on a team of methodical veterans.
The Grizzlies are an emerging bunch in the Western Conference and have given the Celtics issues with their up-tempo style combined with the play of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. But Randolph has missed the past month with a torn right knee ligament, and the Celtics were able to neutralize Gasol and Marreese Speights, who combined for 5-for-24 shooting.
So Memphis was relegated to Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo going one-on-one, and the Celtics gobbled up the duo with their collapsing defense. Memphis shot just 36.8 percent from the field and eclipsed the 20-point mark in only one quarter as the Celtics were fueled by their bench.
“Yeah, our bench was phenomenal today,’’ forward Paul Pierce said. “Really, Chris Wilcox came in at first and gave us a huge lift, and obviously JaJuan. I always talk to the younger guys and always tell them to be ready because it’s a long season and your number’s going to eventually get called at some point or another. And you have to be ready. And he’s shown that he’s getting better throughout the course of the year and staying ready, and it showed how comfortable he was. He’s learning the plays, he’s learning the system, and he really looked good.’’
