It came down to a block by Kristaps Porzingis at the buzzer, but Sunday night at FedExForum, the Boston Celtics survived against a shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies team, missing eight players, that gave them all they could handle.
The 102-100 victory extended the NBA’s longest active win streak to six. It also improved the league’s best crunch time and overall records to 5-2 and 11-2, respectively.
Now, the C’s are in Charlotte for the second half of their back-to-back. The first and only other time they played two consecutive games this season, Al Horford only played in the second matchup, a 117-94 steamrolling of the Toronto Raptors.
That came on the heels of the former Florida Gator not suiting up when Boston bested the Brooklyn Nets 121-107 in its first in-season tournament game.
That approach deviates from how the Celtics typically pace the 16-year veteran through back-to-backs, often having him play on the front end but miss the next day’s contest.
But after logging 22 minutes and registering five points, three rebounds, and two assists against the Grizzlies, Horford (rest) is out for Monday’s matchup vs. the Hornets.
Derrick White is also unavailable for Boston’s game in the Queen City. After producing ten points, four assists, three rebounds, and a block in the win in Memphis, he’s on the injury report as out due to personal reasons.
Monday night’s tilt between the Celtics and Hornets will tip off at 7:00 EST at the Spectrum Center. Inside The Celtics will continue to update Brown’s status for the game and have content related to the contest coming out before, during, and afterward. Follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.