Celtics improve, kind of don't get blown out this time, still lose 93-83

They only lost by 10 this time!

The Memphis Grizzlies came out hot, making four of six shots. That's when Paul Pierce took over. He sparked Boston with 12 points in the first 10 minutes, helping the team take a lead that was as high as 4. Unfortunately, that was maybe the best stretch in the game for the C's, and it was the first quarter.

The Grizzlies survived that and simply proceeded to just control much of the rest of the game by taking a lead as high as 18. However - maybe second place in best Celtics moments from January 2nd - the Celtics eventually had a response to that. Jason Terry drilled back to back three pointers to cap off a 19-8 Celtics run to begin the fourth and bring the Celtics within five. The Celtics didn't score again for another four minutes or so though. The Grizzlies went back up by as many as 11 and won 93-83.

Kevin Garnett missed three of his free throws down that stretch, which certainly didn't help matters. Also not helping things was that Paul Pierce only had five points after that aforementioned 12 in the first 10 minutes.

Mike Conley had 23 points for the Grizzlies tonight. He's their point guard.

It was an OK debut for Bradley, but not team saving. Of course, it was ridiculous to expect Bradley to save the team anyway but we were kind of grasping at straws here. He had four points, played some good defense, limited playing time. He'll have more of an impact as he's worked back in the mix.

The Celtics are now three games below .500. There's nowhere to go but up, right?!