by Gio Rivera
14 minutes ago
The Boston Celtics fell to the Utah Jazz, 118-117, Saturday night at Vivint Arena.
The Celtics fell to 49-23 while the Jazz improved to 34-36 during their season.
Check out the full box score here.
A GREAT TAKE AWAY
A continuing trend throughout Boston’s two-week road trip was to lean into the competition, which continued once again against a Jazz team that stood at the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference entering the night.
The Celtics’ box score would suggest they went up against one of the best in the league, battling tooth and nail in the crucial minutes of the game. But again, the Jazz looked the part with the way they kept the rim. Boston knocked down 22 outside shot attempts, but that bridged Utah’s 17 offensive rebounds — the most the Celtics allowed in a game this season.
Meanwhile, when the Celtics desperately needed a dark horse contribution, Grant Williams responded. Digging into the minutes in recent weeks, Williams came in and drained seven game-leading 3-pointers, stepping up as the Jazz wisely doubled-up trusted man Jayson Tatum. But that wasn’t enough to secure a win, despite holding a late 19-point lead.
The Cs were down the jump, missing three key starters – Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Robert Williams – before taking the floor. This posed an obvious task that head coach Joe Mazzulla attempted to overcome, filling the size void with alternate rotations featuring Mike Muscala and Luke Kornet on the front court. And this game plan, like children’s glue, was not sustainable.
With the loss, the Celtics fell to third in the Eastern Conference standings.
STARS OF THE GAME
– Williams, who was unable to qualify on the potentially winning shot attempt, still put up an impressive performance. The 24-year-old finished with 23 points, shooting 8 of 16 from the field with four rebounds and six assists.
–Lauri Markkanen did well on his Most Improved Player of the Year campaign as Utah’s leader in the win. Markkanen had a double-double, scoring a game-high 28 points with 10 rebounds and three assists.
– Malcolm Brogdon played the leading role in the reserve unit, scoring 16 points with four assists.
BET WATCH
FanDuel Sports set the most/under on Jaylen Brown’s 3-point total at 2.5 with +100 odds on the most before game time in Salt Lake City. The 26-year-old All-Star eliminated those chances at halftime, draining 3 of 6 shots from beyond the arc after the first two quarters. A $100 bet on Brown would have resulted in a total payout of $200.
FOLLOWING
The Celtics, with another atrocious loss on the books, will end their six-game road trip against the Sacramento Kings. Tipoff on Tuesday night at the Golden 1 Center is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.
