The Celtics beat the Grizzlies 110-105, but damn, it sure wasn’t easy.  The Celtics can thank Ray Allen, late-game assassin, for this one, and also a balanced scoring effort.  Six Celtics scored between 13 and 18 points, and Eddie House added 9 off the bench.

Unfortunately, the C’s defense wasn’t nearly as balanced, allowing the young and athletic Grizzlies to score 105 points and shoot 51.5% from the field.  It seemed as though Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo were able to do more or less whatever they wanted, and the Celtics didn’t put up much resistance.

I’m going to put up a few bullets for now, but be sure to check out the main site later, where I will describe why this game reminded me of the Bulls-Celtics series from last season’s playoffs.

• Grizzlies played out of their minds.  Conley was hitting fallaway jumpers, Gay was making a point to get all the way to the hole, and Mayo was stroking the outside shot.  Memphis is a truly talented offensive team, with scorers all over the court.
• Celtics were just too much.  The C’s got a couple stops here and there, and that was all they needed on a night when neither team would be proud of their defensive efforts.  (To say the least.)
• Tony Allen wasn’t bad.  That’s all I’ll say about him until my longer recap later.
• Rasheed made a living down low, where his stronger-than-it-looks 6’11″ frame was built to play.
• Rondo was once again magnificent, with 18 points and 9 assists.
• Don’t label Hasheem Thabeet a bust just yet.
• Zach Randolph can fill it up.  But can’t stop a soul.
• Lester Hudson will be optioned to the D-League.