Celtics @ Grizzlies

Who will WIN this matchup?

Boston Celtics (20-14)

@ Memphis Grizzlies (18-16)

Current odds:

Boston Celtics: (-155)

Memphis Grizzlies: (+135)

• The line for this game is Celtics by 3 points.

• The Boston Celtics thought they were taking some momentum onto the road after outlasting the Philadelphia 76ers at home on Christmas day, but the first stop of the three-game trip turned into a demoralizing affair. The Celtics will try to pick it up and give themselves a chance at a winning trip when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Boston was outrebounded 58-44 and allowed 16 offensive rebounds in the 127-113 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

• The Grizzlies dropped five in a row to fall to .500 but picked things up with wins in the last two games, including a 95-87 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday that came despite some of their own troubles on the glass. Memphis was outrebounded 66-39 and surrendered 19 offensive rebounds to the Cavaliers.

• Boston point guard Kyrie Irving continued his stellar play of late with 23 points, 11 assists and one turnover in Thursday’s loss, marking his second straight double-double after he went for 40 points and 10 rebounds on Christmas. The 26-year-old is 33-of-58 from the floor over the last three games, including 11-of-22 from 3-point range, and is averaging a career-high 6.4 assists on the season. Irving is getting some outside shooting help from power forward Marcus Morris, who is 8-of-14 from beyond the arc over the last three contests.

• Memphis’ last two wins came after the return of shooting guard Dillon Brooks, who sat out 21 games with a knee injury and is being worked back into the rotation slowly. Brooks logged 12 minutes off the bench in a win at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and was up to 15 minutes in Wednesday’s triumph, scoring two points in both victories. “I think he’s got to find his rhythm and I think he’s got to get comfortable again,” Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters of Brooks. “One of the things that we appreciate out of Dillon is his toughness on the defensive end of the floor, his ability to scrap and fight through screens and lock up guys in one-on-one situations. He gives you another guy offensively who can put the ball on the floor and break his man down.”

• Celtics SG Jaylen Brown scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting Thursday after combining for 12 points on 5-of-16 in the previous two contests.

• Grizzlies PG Mike Conley went 0-of-5 from 3-point range on Wednesday after knocking down 15-of-27 over the previous three contests.

• Boston is enjoying a five-game winning streak in the series, including back-to-back victories in Memphis.