With just under four minutes left in the Celtics’ 113-103 win over the Grizzlies on Tuesday night, Gerald Green went back to the bench to sit down, and the raucous TD Garden crowd stood up.
Green is now in his 12th NBA season, and he could not recall ever receiving a standing ovation before. And, really, this was an improbable moment for that to change.
For most of this season, he has been the Celtics’ sage and cheerleader, the first one off the bench with advice or praise. He had not, however, been much of a scorer. All along, Green told himself he would stay true to the message he frequently dispenses to his younger teammates: Stay ready.
On Sunday, he had his best game of this season in a win over the Knicks, and then Tuesday he outdid that performance, pouring in a season-high 19 points in Boston’s win.
The standing ovation was an appreciation for one sparkling night, but it also felt like an acknowledgment that the route to this point had not been simple.
“For me to have one at this day and age of my career,’’ Green said, “that was something special.’’
When the Celtics signed Green to a one-year minimum salary contract last summer, they knew he would not carry them, but they envisioned occasional nights when he would come off the bench and pour in points in bunches.
Entering Tuesday, though, he had yet to even reach double figures in scoring this year. Coach Brad Stevens and the Celtics remained confident that Green would eventually thrive, even if only in fits and starts.
“He’s a guy that when he gets into a rhythm, you have to be wary of if you’re the opponent,’’ Stevens said.
“He’s one of the best scorers I’ve seen in the NBA,’’ teammate Isaiah Thomas added. “Whether it be practice or games, it only takes one shot for him to feel like he’s on fire.’’
Green’s scoring outburst came at the perfect time for the Celtics, who have won six of their last seven games and are resembling the formidable team that many were expecting them to be.
They will enter Thursday night’s nationally televised road showdown against the Cavaliers brimming with confidence, although if there is anyone who can smother confidence in an instant, it is LeBron James.
“We don’t really care about what they’re doing and I know they don’t care about what we’re doing,’’ Thomas said of the Cavaliers. “We’re just trying to focus on us, and getting better each and every day. And we’ve done that the past seven games.’’
The Grizzlies were shorthanded Tuesday night. Point guard Mike Conley sat out because of a toe injury and forward Chandler Parsons, who has missed 18 games because of a knee injury, sat out to rest after Memphis played Monday night.
Still, the Grizzlies own the top-ranked defense in the NBA. Last week the Celtics went to Memphis and grabbed an important overtime win that sparked this recent surge.
Thomas erupted for a career-high 44 points in that win, and before Tuesday’s game, Memphis coach David Fizdale vowed to trap him and throw new looks at him, while jokingly asking if tackling him would be the most effective strategy.
“We’re going to throw the kitchen sink at him,’’ Fizdale said, “and hopefully we can slow his butt down a little bit.’’
The Grizzlies did slow Thomas a little bit, comparatively speaking. The All-Star had 21 points on 6 of 14 shooting and dished out seven assists. But he received enough help. Avery Bradley constantly made sharp, decisive cuts to the basket, and his teammates consistently found him, and he finished with 23 points and seven rebounds. Marcus Smart had 13 points, 6 assists, and 2 soul-crushing fourth-quarter steals.
The Celtics, who entered the night with the 29th-ranked rebounding percentage in the NBA, actually held a 47-37 edge on Memphis, including 14 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points. And then there was Green, who made 7 of his 10 shot attempts, including three 3-pointers.
“Gerald Green can put the ball in the basket,’’ Bradley said. “We all know that. The NBA knows that.’’
Without Conley, the Grizzlies’ offense ran through center Marc Gasol, who made his first five field goals. But he did not receive very much help in the opening quarter, as the Celtics took a 26-19 lead. Gasol finished with 26 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
In the second quarter, after Green drained a step-back 3-pointer, he gathered an offensive rebound and sprinted beyond the line and hit another, giving the Celtics a 43-32 lead.
The Celtics led by just 3 points with 7:32 left in the game before Green made it 98-92 by drilling a 3 from the top of the key. Just over a minute later he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored before adding a pair of free throws in an essential fourth-quarter stint.
Memphis made one final push, as James Ennis hit a 3 from the left arc to make it 105-101 with 2:09 left, but Jae Crowder answered with a long baseline jumper at the other end, and the visitors would get no closer.
“We stood our ground,’’ Thomas said. “Even though they made plays, we stood our ground and snuck out a win on them.’’
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
