Memphis, Tenn. ? Pau Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied in the final period to beat the Boston Celtics 117-109 Wednesday night.
After trailing most of the game, the Grizzlies launched an 18-3 run to begin the fourth quarter and take a 101-97 lead. In the run, Memphis got eight points from Earl Watson and seven from Mike Miller.
Memphis went up 114-105 with just over two minutes to play on two foul shots by James Posey. He had eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the game.
The Grizzlies, with their largest point total of the season, also got 18 points from Bonzi Wells, 12 from Miller, 11 from Watson and 10 each from Shane Battier and Stromile Swift. The previous best total for Memphis came in a 118-113 loss to Seattle on Nov. 14.
The Celtics, ending a three-game road trip with no wins, were led by Raef LaFrentz with 28 points. Paul Pierce and Walter McCarty had 18 points each for Boston while Mark Blount and Marcus Banks added 10 apiece.
Boston shot 56 percent in the first half and held a 65-56 lead at the break.
With five points from Al Jefferson and four from Banks, the Celtics closed the first period with a 12-3 run to take a 38-29 lead.
Their biggest lead of the first half came with 1:57 left in the second period on a reverse layup by LaFrentz made it 62-51.
Gasol kept the Grizzlies in the game with 18 points and seven rebounds in the half.
Notes: Boston is 10-8 overall against the Grizzlies and had won three straight in Memphis. … Each team came away with a win on the other’s home court last season. … In their previous seven meetings, the margin of victory was never more than seven points. … Memphis is 6-6 against the Eastern Conference, while Boston is 5-8 against the West.
