BOSTON (AP) – Leon Powe scored a career-high 30 points with 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen scored 22 points to help the Boston Celtics snap a two-game losing streak and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 102-92.
Powe had the 10th double-double of his career and his third in four games.
Rudy Gay scored 26, O.J. Mayo had 21 and Marc Gasol had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have lost four consecutive games as they struggle to stay out of the Western Conference cellar.
Powe started for just the third time this season because Kevin Garnett and Glen “Big Baby” Davis are both hurt. But the Celtics did get some good news when point guard Rajon Rondo returned after missing two straight games with a sprained right ankle.
Garnett missed his 10th game in a row, and the Celtics have struggled without him. They’ve gone 6-4 since he was hurt against Utah on Feb. 19, falling 21/2 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the race for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
But Garnett wasn’t their only loss.
Davis sprained his right ankle on Sunday, and Rondo was hurt against Cleveland on March 6. Brian Scalabrine has been out most of February and March with concussions, and Tony Allen has played in eight games since New Year’s Day because of a left thumb injury.
But even against the Celtics’ second- and third-stringers, the struggling Grizzles put up little fight.
Boston trailed by seven early in the second quarter before scoring 11 straight points – most with the backups on the court – to take the lead. Mayo hit three straight baskets in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer with 7:55 left, to give Memphis a 59-57 lead.
But the Celtics scored the next eight points and opened a 10-point lead before the end of the third.
Stephon Marbury had his best game since joining the Celtics, scoring nine points with five assists. Marbury scored eight in his Celtics debut, then had six points combined in the next five games.
Notes: The Celtics wore special uniforms, green with gold trim, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. … Fifteen of Memphis’ last 19 games are against teams with winning records. … Boston used its eighth starting lineup of the season. … Mikki Moore picked up four fouls in his first seven minutes on the floor.
AP-ES-03-13-09 2210EDT
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