Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
Plus, Toronto had a close call against bottom-feeding Detroit
Super Bowl, Shmuper Bowl, I always say. The end of the NFL season finally signifies the stretch run of the NBA season, and the casuals will now be coming along for the ride.
If you fall into the category of “having no clue of what’s happening this season,” then let me catch you up to speed. The Celtics have dominated most of this regular season, coming off their Finals loss hungrier than ever. There’s been a sense of inevitability to their contention in some ways.
On Super Bowl Sunday, they showed why with a complete handling of one of the best squads over in the West
Celtics beat Grizzlies 119-109 as opposite trajectories continue
Looking at the top of each conference, you’ll find four mainstays — these Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies as well as the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. These four have been at the top of their conferences for most of this regular season, though at this point, Boston and Memphis are headed in completely opposite directions.
After this win, Boston is riding a 15-4 stretch, including four wins in a row. Memphis, meanwhile, is now 3-9 over their last 12. Both have dealt with their fair share of injuries, including most recently a facial fracture to Jaylen Brown by his own teammate.
Even without one of their stars, Boston found eight different players in double-figures, led by Derrick White’s 23 points and 11 assists. Every Celtic that logged a minute was a positive in plus/minus, an easy tell that this was all Boston all the way; at least it was after Memphis got out to an early 24-15 lead nine minutes in.
Toronto hangs on for 119-118 victory over Pistons
Raptors led by 13 inside of four minutes to play before Detroit rookie Jaden Ivey kicked it into gear with 11 of the Pistons’ final 23 points in a matter of moments. He scored just seven points in the first 44 minutes of the game, so his late outburst — and scoring total on the night of 18 — was too little, too late.
Toronto was led by Fred VanVleet (35 points on 12-26 FG) and Pascal Siakam (28 on 10-19) as the unexpected holdovers for the Raptors while their new addition, Jakob Poeltl, was a team-best +11 in 25 minutes.
