00:09 ET
Tim BontempsESPN
BOSTON – When Celtics guard Marcus Smart saw Jason Tatum go the way the All Star striker did in the fourth quarter on Thursday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, he said his approach was getting simpler.
“Make sure I stay out of his way,” Smart said. “Let him do his job.”
Smart and the Celtics did just that Thursday night, as Tatum’s 21 points in a 9 to 13 shot in the fourth quarter were enough to beat Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant’s 30 points in a 10-10 shootout in the second half, boosting Boston to victory. with 120-107 over Memphis here at TD Garden.
The victory, the 13th for Boston in the last 15 games and the one that moved the Celtics into sole possession in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, was one of the team’s best victories of the season. Not only did the Celtics (38-27) take down one of the best teams in the league in the Grizzlies (43-21), but they did the same with Jaylan Brown, away with a sprained ankle, who received in the early moments of Tuesday’s victory here over the Atlanta Hawks.
It was a victory that Boston took thanks to Tatum’s heroism when he shot Morant and took the lead.
“It was a lot of fun,” Tatum said of talking to Morant. “The place was electric tonight. I think it was just one of those moments: two guys just got busy, did what they could to bring their team to victory, and it just so happened that it was something back and forth. “
Despite his seemingly funny moment at night – finishing with one hand in the alley with a quick break with Kyle Anderson – Morant started slowly when he entered the break at halftime with only eight points in 3 – for 14 shots. In the second half, things escalated quickly when he finished with those 30 points.
Morant did his best to bring Memphis back into the game alone one night as the Grizzlies battled the league’s second-ranked defense. However, Morant did not enjoy the battle in the same way as Tatum – for one obvious reason.
“No,” he said. “I wanted to win.”
While Boston opened the game in the third quarter after a two-point lead, it was largely done with Tatum, who serves as a spectator. That changed quickly in the fourth, however, when he started attacking the edge, finishing 8-for-10 inside the arc. His only triple in the quarter, coming in at 1:34 to bring Boston to a 115-100 lead, was the festive exclamation mark at the end of the game, reflecting the way the Celtics have completely turned their seasons over the past few weeks.
“I think as a competitor you look forward to that,” Tatum said. “Someone you respect in this way, who does great things in the league, you just want to compete. The fourth quarter is the time to win the game and I just wanted to do the right game. Sometimes it’s for yourself and just try to get the job done. “
For Morant, Thursday’s game turned out to be a learning moment. Although he is 6 feet 3 guard, Morant was one of the best domestic scorers in the league this season thanks to his combination of agility, speed and speed. Boston was happy to withdraw and force him to fire one shot at another from the perimeter. Both at the start of the game, he and Desmond Bane, who combined a 4-for-21 in the first half, fought hard.
They both started to progress as they became 9-for-14 behind the 3-point arc in the second half, and Morant said that when teams tried to force him to shoot jumps, he would have a reaction to it.
“I’m taking pictures,” Morant said. “They hang, I shoot the ball. I did a lot of work, you know, shooting behind the arc. So the teams go back, they go under, I shoot the ball, I shoot it with a lot of confidence, the shots start to fall. “
They began to fall repeatedly in the second half as he tried to bring the Grizzlies back into the game. In the end, however, Tatum’s response was too strong for Morant and Grizzlies to answer.
“It’s him,” Morant said of if Memphis did something wrong defending Tatum on the stretch. “We tried to make his punches as hard as possible, but with a special talent like this, the boys almost find a way.
“Without disrespect, change of person, but the same is with me. I fired horribly at first, saw some go and the shots started falling. Almost the same thing with him. He went, got to where he was comfortable on the floor, and he made a few big punches for his team to keep the lead and come out victorious. “
The victory, which came on the same day that Celtics coach Ime Udoka was named coach of the month in the February Eastern Conference, was the latest example of Boston’s remarkable mid-season performance. Occupying 0.500 after losing to the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 28, the Celtics have won 13 games since then, climbing to fifth place in the east and within four games of the top-ranked Miami Heat.
And while there are many reasons for the change – from Boston’s improvement in defense to the acquisition of Derrick White to Udoka, who stops at a narrow rotation and the Celtics are recovering – it also matched Tatum’s game much better, as Memphis saw in Thursday night.
“I think looking at us now, we’re playing with a lot more passion and it just seems like we’re having a lot more fun,” Tatum said. “Obviously, when you win, you tend to play with a little more enthusiasm, smiles, laughter and things like that. It didn’t happen too often at the beginning of the season.
“It’s basketball at the end of the day and it must be a lot of fun. And we’ve been having a lot of fun lately.”