The Grizzlies' Jaylen Wells (left) defends Derrick White, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' road victory.
The Grizzlies' Jaylen Wells (left) defends Derrick White, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' road victory.Brandon Dill/Associated Press
MEMPHIS — In NCAA Tournament terms, the Celtics survived and advanced.
They were pushed to the brink Friday by a group of former G-Leaguers, 10-day contract players, and little-used reserves from a patchwork Memphis lineup beset with injuries. And that collection held a 7-point lead over the befuddled Celtics with nine minutes left.
After Jaylen Wells stole a lazy Payton Pritchard pass and completed a streaking dunk, Joe Mazzulla called timeout. The result was a stirring 24-7 run with Derrick White, struggling the first three quarters, carrying the team with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum still on the bench.
Once the duo returned, the Celtics had the lead and then finally took control for a 117-112 win at FedEx Forum.
White scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter while Luka Garza added 22 points and eight rebounds.
Brown led the Celtics with 30 points and connected on a pair of clinching buckets down the stretch. Tyler Burton, nearing the end of his 10-day contract, scored a career-high 23 points in his fifth NBA game. DeJon Jarreau, also on a 10-day, added 13.
Pritchard scored 19 for the Celtics and Tatum finished with 13 on 3-for-15 shooting.
The Celtics could never make the consistent plays to put the Grizzlies away. What’s more, Memphis went on a series of third-quarter runs to build a 6-point lead behind the shooting of Cam Spencer (11 points) and Jarreau. Spencer hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 74-68 lead and Jarreau countered a Hugo Gonzalez corner three with one of his own for an 88-82 lead.
With their full lineup, the Celtics couldn’t shake the Grizzlies, made mostly of G-Leaguers and little-used reserves. Burton, on a 10-day contract, led the Grizzlies with 23 points as seven players scored in double figures, forcing the Celtics to rally for the win in the fourth quarter.
About an hour prior to tipoff, the Grizzlies scratched three more players from Friday’s game, including standout rookie Cedric Coward and second-year swingman GG Jackson, both of whom played pivotal roles in Memphis’s upset win over the Nuggets on Wednesday.
That provided opportunity for more unheralded Grizzlies to get an opportunity as the tanking team has shut down multiple starters this season with injuries. Perhaps it was a lack of knowledge or a long night out in Memphis, but the Celtics struggled with these no-name Grizzlies for the first half.
Memphis’s leading scorer at the break was Burton, an undrafted player from Villanova who nailed four 3-pointers as the Grizzlies hovered near 50 percent shooting for the entire 24 minutes. Burton knocked down two triples in the final 68 seconds of the half to sluce the Celtics’ lead to 55-54.
Frustration began mounting as a Pritchard offensive foul on a push off created the possession for Burton’s first triple in that run. When the half ended, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had to be restrained from approaching official Ed Malloy, who made that call.
The Celtics were erratic from the field but proficient at reaching the line, making 26 of 30 of their free throws in the game.
Brown led the Celtics with 16 points but on 4-for-11 shooting. He attempted six free throws. Tatum looked uncomfortable most of the half, missing his first eight shots.
Late in the half, Brown hit an open Tatum with a pocket for an easy layup and Tatum bobbled the ball out of bounds. A few possessions later, Brown passed up an open triple to feed Tatum in the right corner for his first field goal of the game. He was 1-for-10 shooting with 5 points in 17 first-half minutes.
Pritchard scored 12 for the Celtics but he was also called for two uncharacteristic offensive fouls as Boston committed seven turnovers.
All nine Grizzlies who played in the first half scored. Memphis had just nine active players but its energy appeared to catch the Celtics off guard. Boston bullied the Grizzlies in the paint and on the boards but had trouble finishing at the rim. The 3-point line was worse as the Celtics missed 19 of their 25 attempts in the first half with Tatum missing six times.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.