The Boston Celtics improved to an NBA-high 11-2 with a road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, marking their sixth consecutive victory.

That is the Sunday evening positive spin. The Celtics nearly lost to a 3-9 Grizzlies squad beset by injuries and committed several uncharacteristic errors during the contest, according to the more pessimistic assessment.

Joe Mazzulla, the head coach, adopted a pessimistic perspective.

“We got lucky to win that game,” Boston’s Mazzulla said following the team’s 102-100 victory at FedExForum. “This is something we frequently discuss: both wins and losses provide opportunities for growth and development. Moments pass when a loss is tolerable because one executed the appropriate strategies, while other times are vehement because one did not merit victory. Furthermore, a considerable portion of our actions rendered us undeserving of the victory.

The 17 turnovers committed by Mazzulla’s Celtics tied a season high, and they attempted a season-low 31 3-pointers, converting only 12 (38.7 percent). Memphis outhustled Boston by accumulating fourteen offensive rebounds to the Celtics’ nine and twenty-one second-chance points to their twelve.

However, the Celtics also committed unacknowledged errors, most notably Jrue Holiday’s missed dunk with nine seconds remaining.

With 14 seconds remaining and a two-point lead, the Celtics simply needed to hold onto the ball and await a foul from the Grizzlies after Derrick White obtained an offensive rebound and passed it to Jayson Tatum. Tatum instead passed the ball to Holiday, who failed to complete the dunk and set up Santi Aldama of Memphis, who had 28 points and six three-pointers on the evening, for an open 3-point attempt that would have extended the lead for his team.

The shot by Aldama rimmed out, and Kristaps Porzingis blocked the buzzer-beating attempt by Ziaire Williams. Yet Mazzulla did not absolve Holiday of responsibility.

“At the conclusion of that game, one must either complete the layup or be fouled. “Such is the nature of things,” Mazzulla said regarding Holiday’s error. “You must make it or risk dribbling the clock out, receiving a foul, and having to make free throws; otherwise, the game is over.”

“The Grizzlies get credit for their style of play.” At certain moments, I believed they simply outperformed us.

The Celtics have produced back-to-back subpar performances: Mazzulla acknowledged that their 108-105 victory over the Raptors on Friday night in Toronto marked the “first time all year in which we failed to perform at our peak.”

Optimal news? Boston, which is currently ranked second in the NBA behind the Milwaukee Bucks, has a 5-2 record in “clutch” games (score within five in the final five minutes) and a 35.1 net rating. The team managed to secure victories in both contests.

On Monday evening, at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Celtics will travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets, led by LaMelo Ball.