MEMPHIS, Tennessee — In a battle of young versus old, youth prevailed. Of course, “young” and “old” are relative in the NBA.
21-year-old Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies clashed with 32-year-old Jeff Teague and the Boston Celtics in a non-conference contest Monday night at the FedExForum. The Grizzlies earned the home win in overtime, beating the Celtics 132-126.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies in scoring with 29 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added yet another double-double on the season, his 27th, with 16 points and 19 rebounds.
The Celtics took a 65-60 lead into halftime, led by the veteran Teague’s game-high 13 points. Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant paced the Grizzlies in the first half, each scoring 12 points, while Desmond Bane came off the bench and added 10 points on 4-5 shooting in only 9 minutes of action.
Romeo Langford (22), Jayson Tatum (23), Tristan Thompson (30), and Kemba Walker (31), all did not play for the Celtics. The Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr., who last played in an NBA game August 3, 2020, sat out once again as he still is recovering from a knee injury.
Boston Celtics are now 21-22 on the season, while the Memphis Grizzlies improve to 20-20. The Grizzlies are now 11-13 in home games.
The Grizzlies’ next game is on the road Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
