Al Jefferson puts up a titanic fight, going off for 28 points and 19 rebounds against his former team. But the C's give an overall better team effort, and they get the win to show for it.
Ray Allen finishes with a team-high 25 points including 5-of-8 shooting from long range; Paul Pierce adds 21. Kevin Garnett (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (16 points, 11 assists) each add double-doubles.
The Celtics finish their West road trip with a solid 3-1 record, and they now return home to face the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Fourth quarter, 14.3 seconds, Celtics 105-102: Rajon Rondo just took — and made — a jump shot in the clutch.
Devin Harris gets to the line on the ensuing possession, but he only makes one of two. The Celtics are ready to seal the deal.
Fourth quarter, 41.9 seconds, Celtics 103-101: Ray Allen makes an impossible fall-away wing jumper, but Al Jefferson answers with a bucket and a foul. The Celtics catch a break when Al misses the free throw and KG grabs the defensive rebound.
Again, the Jazz have a chance to get back in the game with a stop and a bucket. This game is far from over.
Fourth quarter, 1:15, Celtics 101-99: The Jazz really wanted three points on that possesssion, and they got them. Paul Millsap gets a bucket inside and draws a foul from Paul Pierce. He hits the free throw to round out the three-point play.
Now the Jazz are one stop away from tying this thing. They've got to keep Paul Pierce and Ray Allen from getting open looks in this final minute.
Fourth quarter, 1:56, Celtics 101-96: Now it's Paul Pierce's turn to knock down the deadly 3.
The Celtics have hit every clutch shot in sight. They're on the verge of finishing the deal in Utah.
Fourth quarter, 2:36, Celtics 98-94: Al Jefferson and the Jazz are putting up a fight, but Ray Allen can't be denied. He hits another 3, padding Boston's lead.
Ray is now 5-for-8 from long range and leads the Celtics with 23 points.
Fourth quarter, 4:45, Celtics 91-90: Devin Harris drains two free throws and puts the Jazz back in the lead; Ray Allen responds with a backdoor cut for a layup.
The Celtics' offense looks remarkably efficient right now. They refuse to run out of steam this time.
Fourth quarter, 6:03, Celtics 89-86: An incredible volley of turnovers, fast breaks and missed running jumpers finally ends with Kevin Garnett getting to the line for two free throws. He sinks them both.
The C's have themselves a three-point lead with six minutes to play. It would behoove them to slow the game down now. They want to control the pace from here on out.
Fourth quarter, 7:37, Jazz 86-85: There goes Favors again. Can anyone stop that guy?
The Celtics never had much trouble with the No. 3 pick Favors when he was in New Jersey. But he's become a beast off the bench for the Jazz.
Fourth quarter, 9:19, Jazz 84-83: Derrick Favors just leapt over two Celtic defenders and threw one down. He's a man possessed right now.
Favors caps off a 7-0 Jazz run, putting them back in front for the moment. How will the C's respond?
Fourth quarter, 10:18, Celtics 83-80: The Celtics are going big. That's something you didn't hear much earlier this year.
Nenad Krstic, Glen Davis, Jeff Green and Paul Pierce are all on the floor together. This lineup has a lot of size and a lot of firepower offensively.
It's not the best unit on D, though. The Celtics had better keep trading baskets, lest they let the Jazz sneak back into this thing.
End of third quarter, Celtics 79-75: The Celtics bear down and put together a couple of stops to close the third quarter. They maintain a four-point lead over the Jazz.
Al Jefferson now leads the Jazz with 22 points and 15 rebounds; Kevin Garnett has 16 points and 10 boards of his own for Boston. It's a battle of the bigs.
So far, both teams have done a solid job defensively of muscling up against opposing bigs and forcing them to settle for jumpers. But both guys are hitting those jumpers.
Which one will come through in the clutch? This might be a close game all the way to the final seconds.
Third quarter, 2:43, Celtics 74-70: Kevin Garnett knocks down yet another mid-range jumper. He just can't be stopped.
KG has 10 points in the third quarter. Overall tonight, he's 8-for-14 from the field, and he's got yet another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. It's his fifth consecutive dub-dub, and eighth in his last nine games. Not bad.
Third quarter, 4:38, Celtics 70-68: Al Jefferson is just killing the Celtics. He's now got 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and 13 rebounds, four of them on the offensive end.
He's not just scoring at the rim. He's knocking down mid-range jump shots, too.
Can anyone in green stop him?
Third quarter, 6:02, Celtics 68-64: Give Ray Allen the ball with an open look in transition, and he never fails to throw down an explosive dunk.
For a 35-year-old veteran, Ray can still show some impressive flashes of athleticism.
Blake Griffin? Blake who?
Third quarter, 7:59, 60-60: Devin Harris just dribbled from coast to coast for a layup in the blink of an eye. And it's not the first time tonight he's done that, either.
Harris is one of the NBA's fastest with the ball in his hands. He's in that upper echelon with LeBron James and John Wall. It's a thrill to watch.
Harris ties the game. The Celtics need to get some stops again.
Third quarter, 9:04, Celtics 60-55: The Celtics start the third quarter strong, getting a couple early jump shots from Kevin Garnett.
When KG's jump shot is falling, the C's are a really tough team to cover. He's been doing a great job lately of spreading the floor, enabling Rajon Rondo to drive.
Halftime, Celtics 56-53: Four years ago, Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson were teammates and good friends. Now they're dueling to the death.
Pierce had zero points in the first quarter; he explodes in the second for 16. He's led the Celtics to a three-point halftime lead.
Jefferson, meanwhile, has game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds. He's been an absolute beast.
We'll see if either of these guys can be stopped in the second half. My advice: Don't bet on it.
Second quarter, 2:56, 46-46: The Jazz have tied the game with a 12-2 run, fueled largely by their two scoring bigs, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.
The Celtics are without a field goal in the last four minutes. Their offense has really stagnated. They're a little too antsy to get up and run — they can't be afraid to slow the game down and start running their offense.
Second quarter, 5:49, Celtics 44-36: Al Jefferson is quietly putting together a monster night for the Jazz. He's got 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks early.
Seems like Big Al always brings a big-game mentality against his former team. Tonight is obviously no exception.
Jefferson's a tough matchup for the Celtics. He's a lot taller and longer than Glen Davis, and Nenad Krstic isn't much of a defender, so he's got trouble with Al too. The C's are still looking for answers.
Second quarter, 7:19, Celtics 42-34: Paul Pierce did absolutely nothing for the Celtics in the first quarter. He's done absolutely everything in the second.
The captain has scored all of the C's last eight points, giving him a game total of — well, eight. He's keeping them in the lead while the reserves on the floor stay quiet offensively.
Pierce is just a professional scorer. He never stays quiet for long.
Second quarter, 8:55, Celtics 36-29: Nice move by Derrick Favors to get to the hoop. The rookie scores on his first shot attempt of the night.
Favors is a promising kid. He's really got a chance to shine off the Utah bench, backing up Paul Millsap. He's got quickness, athleticism and good instincts with the basketball.
Second quarter, 9:39, Celtics 34-27: Doc Rivers is leaving Paul Pierce out on the floor with a young second unit around him — Glen Davis, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Chris Johnson.
Pierce hasn't been a factor in this game offensively (he's scoreless on 0-for-1 shooting), but his presence is definitely a positive influence on the C's backups. He's got to keep these youngsters focused on both ends.
Chris Johnson continues to look alert and very athletic out there. He's been a pleasant surprise.
End of first quarter, Celtics 30-21: The Celtics have gotten off to a tremendous start in their West Coast road trip finale, ending the first quarter on a 28-11 run. They've got a solid lead over the Jazz early.
Nenad Krstic leads the Celtics with 10 points in the first quarter, while Ray Allen adds nine. Rajon Rondo has four with five assists.
Devin Harris scores seven in the first quarter for Utah.
Interesting development at the end of the quarter: Doc Rivers sends Avery Bradley into the game to play a little D on Harris. Bradley's such a hardworking defender, it's good to see him get a chance.
First quarter, 2:20, Celtics 27-14: The Celtics have now answered Utah's 10-0 run with a 25-4 run of their own. They are running all over the floor, catching the Jazz sleeping. The C's are an exciting team to watch when they move like this.
Nenad Krstic has eight points already. He gives the Celtics a different look at center that they didn't have with Kendrick Perkins.
First quarter, 4:49, Celtics 19-14: Ray Allen is on fire. He's nailed three corner 3s in this first quarter, and the Jazz have no answer.
Now it's Tyrone Corbin's time to frustratedly call timeout. The Celtics have quickly regained control of this ballgame.
First quarter, 6:59, Celtics 11-10: It's a game of runs, they always say. The Celtics storm back with a 9-0 run of their own, capped off by a sweet corner 3 from Ray Allen.
The C's are really putting some stops together now. They're forcing Al Jefferson and Devin Harris to settle for jump shots rather than scoring inside. That's a big key to victory in this matchup.
First quarter, 9:29, Jazz 10-2: Not a good start for Boston. The Jazz are hitting every single shot, and the C's aren't doing much to stop them. That's a 10-0 run for Utah, and Doc Rivers doesn't look too happy to waste a timeout this early.
The Celtics don't look focused on the defensive end. Doc's got to talk some sense into them.
First quarter, 11:31, Celtics 2-0: The Celtics execute a beautiful play on their first possession, with Rajon Rondo catching Devin Harris sleeping on a backdoor cut. Kevin Garnett makes a nice pass to catch Rondo under the basket for two.
The C's are moving the ball with ease early. That's always a good sign.
7:45 p.m.: The Celtics will once again see their depth tested in Utah on Monday night, as Delonte West is out with a sprained ankle.
Doc Rivers reassured the media Monday that West's injury wasn't serious, but the C's were playing it safe with the injury.
That leaves the door open for another backup point guard to emerge against the Jazz. Will Von Wafer sneak into that role? Will Ray Allen become more of a combo guard than a straight-up two?
Or maybe Rajon Rondo will just play 48 minutes. It's nothing he hasn't done before.
8 a.m.: For a team that just cast off five rotation players mere days ago, the Celtics are in relatively good shape.
They put together a solid come-from behind win in Los Angeles on Saturday night, scoring 34 points in the third quarter and rolling to victory over the Clippers, 99-92. The win improved them to 2-1 on their West Coast road trip despite the emotional strain of gutting their roster at the trade deadline.
On Monday night in Salt Lake City, the C's will have a chance to improve to 3-1 on the trip and head home happy. They'll still be without Shaquille O'Neal, as their aging center stays away from the team rehabbing a sore Achilles, but Nenad Krstic was admirable in a fill-in role, contributing nine points and six rebounds Saturday against the Clippers.
The other new piece, Jeff Green, scored seven points in limited minutes Saturday. The two former Thunder will only get better with time as they become more comfortable with Doc Rivers' system, but they're already making strides.
The C's have already beaten the Warriors and Clippers on this trip, and fallen to the Nuggets while extremely shorthanded. They'll finish up against a Jazz team that's struggling without Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams. Utah is fading fast from the West playoff race, having lost six of its last seven games and 15 of its last 20.
The Celtics remain virtually tied with the Miami Heat, mere percentage points ahead for first place in the Eastern Conference. Every game counts.
The C's and Jazz tip things off at 9 p.m. Get ready for Game 2 of the Nenad Krstic/Jeff Green era.
