Boston Celtics defeat Memphis Grizzlies, 110-105

This is pretty much how it’s going to be every game for the Celtics.

The NBA’s upstarts are waiting impatiently to take a shot at Big Brother, hoping to catch the Celtics slipping, ragged, or just plain below par for a night.

The last team that caught the Celtics slipping on the road was the Indiana Pacers more than a month ago, and since then Boston has run off eight straight road wins and 11 overall as they reached win No. 20 with a 110-105 victory over the Grizzlies ...

The Celtics’ pick-and-roll play nearly turned into a picked-off-and-lose play last night.

But Ray Allen grabbed a deflected pass and sank a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer with 17.5 seconds left to clinch a 110-105 victory over the Grizzlies, helping the Celtics conclude a three-game road trip with their 11th successive victory.

The Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce pick and roll had produced two field goals in a 32-second span, before O.J. Mayo cut the Grizzlies’ deficit...

The pick-and-roll is among the most basic of basketball maneuvers. But it is also difficult to defend, especially when Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are executing the play.

“It’s a tough pick-and-roll,’’ Pierce said, “because you’ve got a big guy [who’s] able to knock down shots. I’m able to knock down shots or drive off the pick and they got to make a decision whether to trap or switch. Then, if you trap you’ve got to rotate to Kevin, so it puts teams in a pred...