Celtics hold off Grizzlies in OT

On Saturday Night, the Celtics finished off their tough 4 game road trip against the Grizzlies. They won 116-110 in OT. They were very successful this road trip, finishing with a record of 3-1. This game was an offensive outburst for both teams. The Grizzlies defense isn't that great, but their offense is. The Celtics offense did weel, but their defense struggled and sputtered.
Both teams managed to shoot better than 53.0 percent from the floor in tonight's game, but the Celtics turned up the heat at the defensive end of the court when the overtime session began. They turned the heat up so much, in fact, that Memphis couldn’t muster up a single point for the first 3:08 of overtime. In that time span, Boston forced the Grizzlies to miss four straight jump shots, all of which came from at least 12 feet from the basket. That stretch of perfect defense, combined with three big shots at the other end of the floor, helped seal the deal for the C’s.
Glen Davis opened up OT with a beautiful shot . His points were followed up by a perfect 3-pointer from Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo’s  jumper at the 2:09 mark gave Boston a comfortable seven-point cushion. Six free throws down the stretch (four from Paul Pierce, two from Allen) put the game on ice for Boston.
The player who was the most productive? SHAQ!!! In just his second game back after missing five straight contests with a bruised right knee, Shaquille O’Neal looked like he was in his prime years again during the 20 minutes he spent on the court Saturday night. Shaq finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, which included numerous slams that nearly took down the backboard, and added six rebounds as well. At the free-throw line, where O’Neal typically struggles, he was able to sink four of his five attempts.


BOX SCORE
TEAM--1---2---3---4----OT--TOT.
BOS---27--27--19--26--17---116
MEM--27--22--24--26--11---110


GAME NOTES
The Celtics assisted on 32 of their 45 made field goals. Rajon Rondo led the team, and game, with 17 dimes (12 of which came in the second half).
Paul Pierce scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.
The teams combined to grab 21 steals (12 for Boston, nine for Memphis).
Glen Davis, Rondo and former Celtic Tony Allen tied for the game-high in steals with three apiece.
Rondo (11 points, 17 assists) and Zach Randolph (21 points, 11 rebounds) were the only players to record double-doubles.
All 10 starters scored in double figures.
Mike Conley committed a game-high six turnovers.
Shaquille O'Neal had his best game as a Celtic with 18 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of playing time.
Kevin Garnett led Boston with nine rebounds. He also scored 18 points.
The Celtics committed six less turnovers (11) than the Grizzlies (17), but Memphis managed to score more points (22) off turnovers than Boston did (19).
The Celtics shot 57.7 percent from the floor, while the Grizzlies made 53.0 percent of their shots.
Both teams finished with five blocked shots.