BOSTON – Mike Conley had 23 points and nine assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 93-83 victory over the Celtics on Wednesday night and send Boston to its fourth consecutive loss.
Rudy Gay scored 19 points and ex-Celtic Tony Allen had a season-high 15 points for Memphis.
Paul Pierce scored 17 for Boston, but he had just one basket in the third quarter and none in the fourth while missing seven of his last eight shots.
Rajon Rondo had 11 points and 10 assists for the Celtics, who trailed by 18 after the opening basket of the fourth quarter but closed the gap to 83-78 with under 5 minutes to play on back-to-back 3-pointers from Jason Terry.
Boston began fouling and the Grizzlies made their shots, hitting 8 of 11 from the line down the stretch.
Bradley’s back
Avery Bradley passed his final test Tuesday, running through the Celtics’ practice without any complications, and played 191⁄2 minutes Wednesday night, scoring four points.
So now that the Celtics have their best perimeter defender back, the question is where he will have the most impact. Considering that they were cut apart by penetrating guards throughout their 1-3 roadtrip, that trouble spot is marked by a red flag.
“He takes (dribble penetration) away from his guy, but unfortunately there’s four other guys on the floor,” coach Doc Rivers said of what has hurt the overall defensive scheme. “Avery is probably top five in the league in on-ball defense and pressure and not getting beat. The problem is there’s four other guys on the floor, too.![]()
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