MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Rallying just in time, the Memphis Grizzlies erased a double-digit deficit and sent the Boston Celtics home with a three-loss road trip.

Memphis trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but seven points from Mike Miller and six from Earl Watson contributed to a 16-0 run that carried the Grizzlies to a 117-109 win on Wednesday night.

“I haven’t seen us make a run like that this year. It was definitely an educational experience,” said coach Mike Fratello, who took over the Grizzlies on Dec. 2. “I thought that we played bad defense in the first half and nothing went right. Then we made that run in the fourth quarter just when things were looking bad.”

The run came as a surprise to the Celtics, too.

“We played 35 good minutes. Unfortunately, it’s not a 35-minute game,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said.

Led by Pau Gasol’s 24 points and 11 rebounds, the Grizzlies also got 18 points from Bonzi Wells, 12 from Miller, 11 from Watson and 10 each from Shane Battier and Stromile Swift.

Memphis scored 34 fourth-quarter points and ended the night with its highest point total of the season.

Raef LaFrentz led the Celtics with a season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Paul Pierce and Walter McCarty had 18 points each for Boston while Mark Blount and Marcus Banks added 10 apiece.

McCarty scored 12 in the first half. The Celtics’ Al Jefferson had a career-high four blocks. Swift had four blocks for Memphis.

The Grizzlies dominated on both ends of the floor in the final period, brining a sellout crowd of 18,119 to its feet.

“They got up in our faces. We didn’t keep our composure and the crowd got into it,” Pierce said. “That took us totally out of our game.”

The Celtics tried to shut down Gasol in the fourth quarter, but that only opened up opportunities for other Grizzlies.

“We were doubling down on Gasol and they did a good job of finding the open shooters and knocking down shots,” LaFrentz said.

Notes: The Celtics lost in San Antonio on Sunday and in Dallas on Tuesday night. They return to Boston to host the Wizards on Friday afternoon. … 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.

AP-ES-12-30-04 0015EST