Another day, another loss.
The Boston Celtics couldn't salvage a close-ish game against the Memphis Grizzlies. There were moments of brightness, such as Rondo's return to double-digit assists for the second time in seven games, a Jason Terry transformation back into "The Jet" during the only portion of the game that resembled anything that could remotely be considered "down the stretch" for the Celtics, who did make a run to cut into what was a now-familiar lead of 10+ for the Grizz.
But, the greatest ray of sunshine through an otherwise cloudy sky was -- obviously -- the return of Avery Bradley.
Bradley looked to be in fine defensive-hawkish form, harassing his assignments up and down the floor in familiar fashion and, though his shooting was expectedly rusty, he still managed 4 points on 2-3 shooting in 19 minutes.
Bradley's predecessor as defensive stopper -- Tony Allen -- returned to the Garden to torment his former team with 15 points on 6-8 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and lots of defensive stoppage. He was joined in the light mauling of the Celtics by point guard Mike Conley, who scored 23 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal, while Rudy Gay dropped 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block on The Green.
Paul Pierce had 17, Garnett scored 12, and Rondo tallied 11 though none of them were able to shoot 50% for the night at Boston Garden.
Box Score
Tale Of The Tape
The Celtics next play against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, January 4th at 8:00 p.m.
