Celtics beat Grizzlies 117-103 and complete the first 6-0 trip in franchise history

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 14 rebounds, Al Horford scored 26 points and the Boston Celtics swept a six-game road trip for the first time in franchise history with a 117-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

Victories at Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, San Antonio and Memphis eclipsed the previous road win streak of five in February 1973. The run also helped Boston tie a franchise record with 32 road wins, accomplished in 1972-73 and 1974-75) and trailing Chicago (33, 1995-96) and Golden State (34, 2015-16).

Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points as Boston won its ninth straight and closed out a 13-1 March.

Ja Morant scored 26 points, Santi Aldama 21 and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 20 points and 15 rebounds as the Grizzlies closed within seven points with three minutes left, but couldn't complete the comeback in losing for the sixth time in seven games.

The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown (right knee impingement) and Luke Kornet (ill).

The last two quarters were played with two officials after Matt Kallio did not return for the second half. The NBA said Kallio stayed in the locker room with an apparent injury.

Celtics: Boston is comfortably in second place in the East and the winning streak has solidified that position.

Grizzlies: Interim coach Tuomas Iisalo is looking for his first win after two games as Memphis (44-31) is getting dangerously close to the play-in game.

With Memphis still within single digits, Boston opened the final frame shooting 4 of 6 from long distance and built its biggest lead midway through the fourth.

Memphis was shooting 50% from 3-point distance midway through the second quarter when it built an 11-point lead. But the Grizzlies missed their last six 3-pointers in the half.

Boston hosts Miami on Wednesday. Memphis hosts Golden State on Tuesday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, center, reaches for the ball between Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, left, and center Al Horford (42) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, right, shoots against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) shoots ahead of Boston Celtics centers Al Horford (42) and Kristaps Porzingis in the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) shoots against Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) passes the ball around Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) to Grizzlies forward Marvin Bagley III (35) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, reaches for the ball ahead of Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Overnight strikes by Israel killed at least 55 people across the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Thursday, a day after senior government officials said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and establish a new security corridor across the Palestinian territory.

Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory. Israel has imposed a month-long halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle.

Officials in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the strip, said the bodies of 14 people had been taken to Nasser Hospital – nine of them from the same family. The dead included five children and four women. The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between 1 and 7 years and a pregnant woman, were taken to the European hospital near Khan Younis, hospital officials said. In Gaza City, 21 bodies were taken to Ahli hospital, including those of seven children.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel was establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu referred to the new axis as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities. He said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor ” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.

Israel has reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor, also named for a former settlement, that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the narrow coastal strip. Both of the existing corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.

“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority, led by rivals of Hamas, expressed its “complete rejection” of the planned corridor. Its statement also called for Hamas to give up power in Gaza, where the militant group has faced rare protests recently.

Netanyahu’s announcement came after the defense minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones, apparently referring to an existing buffer zone along Gaza’s entire perimeter. He called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all the hostages,” saying “this is the only way to end the war.”

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel plans to maintain overall security control of Gaza after the war and implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle much of its population elsewhere through what the Israeli leader referred to as “voluntary emigration.”

Palestinians have rejected the plan, viewing it as expulsion from their homeland after Israel’s offensive left much of it uninhabitable, and human rights experts say implementing the plan would likely violate international law.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and at its height displaced around 90% of the population.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians inspect a UN building after it was hit by an Israeli strike, in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians inspect a UN building after it was hit by an Israeli strike, in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)