Jaylen Brown posted a career-best 42 points, including 18 in the second quarter, as the Boston Celtics extended their lead and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 126-107.
Boston thus spun its tenth victory against Memphis.
Brown tied his best record of 34 points with three minutes into the third period and his seven 3s (10 attempts) tied for his career high. Jayson Tatum scored 16 points, Marcus Smart added 14 and Robert Williams III had 10 rebounds for Boston, which has not lost to Memphis since 2016.
Hours after they announced they would be without reigning Rookie of the Year Ja Morant for three to five weeks due to a sprained ankle, the Grizzlies lost the third of four games.
Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, Gorgui Dieng had 17.
Memphis started 4-0 before giving up the next 12 points. The Celtics rose to a 31-19 lead after the first period and went 17-0 in the second – including two 3s by Tatum, as well as a 3-pointer and a layup shot by Brown – to widen the gap 57-30.
The Grizzlies couldn’t get within 20 points until the final two minutes.
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