Brown scores 30 as Celtics rally past Grizzlies

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Brown scores 30 as Celtics rally past Grizzlies image

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Luka Garza added a season-high 22 points and the Boston Celtics used a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-112 on Friday night.

Payton Pritchard added 19 points for the Celtics, who have won four straight. The win kept Boston in second place in the East, 1 1/2 games ahead of the New York Knicks who held on for a 93-92 victory over Brooklyn earlier Friday night.

Tyler Burton, who signed a 10-day contract with Memphis on March 12, led the Grizzlies with 23 points, a career-high. Ty Jerome added 16 points and seven assists. Javon Small and DeJon Jarreau finished with 13 points each.

Memphis was able to stay close through three quarters as Boston struggled shooting, converting only 40% of its shots entering the fourth. Turnovers also plagued the Celtics.

Memphis held a 103-102 lead with 5:33 left, but Boston went on a 10-point rally to end the Grizzlies hopes.

The Grizzlies, who snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 125-118 victory over Denver on Wednesday night, are limping their way through the season’s final weeks. Memphis was again short-handed with nine players on the injury list, including several players already undergoing season-ending surgeries.

In contrast, the main absent Celtic was Nikola Vucevic who missed his seventh straight game with a fractured right ring finger.

Both teams struggled from outside the arc through much of the first half, which kept the score low and the Grizzlies close. Until the 4-minute mark of the second quarter, both teams had converted only a trio of 3-pointers each. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum missed his first eight shots.

Brown’s 16 points helped Boston carry a 55-54 lead into the half.