In a game where the Boston Celtics scored 130 points in regulation, doing so without Jaylen Brown, one would think Boston's defense, which has the second-best defensive rating since Nov 3, would help ensure the green and white left Salt Lake City with a win to kick off its west coast road trip. Instead, the Utah Jazz caught fire from three in the early going and recaptured that rhythm late to help them earn a 137-130 victory.
Here's what stood out from Friday night's slugfest between Boston and Utah.
Jazz on fire from three in the first quarter
Utah was on fire to start the game, draining 9/13 shots (66.7%) from beyond the arc in the first quarter. As a result, the Jazz scored 38 points, tying for the most the Celtics have given up in a first frame this season.
Celtics' Defense Gets Them Back in the Game
In the second quarter, the Celtics defense was outstanding. The Jazz are a turnover-prone team, entering the game coughing up 14.8 turnovers per contest, the 10th-most in the league, per NBA.com. On Friday, they turned the ball over 12 times by the end of the first half, leading to 21 of Boston's 56 points at the break.
Beyond taking advantage of a team with a penchant for turning the ball over, the Celtics raised their defensive intensity in the second quarter, which, along with more on-ball pressure, translated to crisper rotations and Utah going from making nine threes in the first quarter to two in the second.
Ime Udoka Staggers Al Horford and Robert Williams' Minutes in Second Half
A noteworthy development to start the second half was Ime Udoka going away from his two-big starting lineup, staggering Al Horford and Robert Williams' minutes, matching the former with Rudy Gobert and the latter with Hassan Whiteside.
With Grant Williams playing alongside Horford, the Celtics still had the necessary beef to hold their own in the paint against a diving Gobert and on the defensive glass. Williams also has the mobility to play against the other members of Utah's frontcourt and not get run off the floor by Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. And with the other half of the Williams bros matching up with Whiteside, the Jazz's other seven-footer finished the game with two points and a plus-minus rating of -10.
The Jazz's Offense Prevails Down the Stretch
Credit the Celtics for scoring 130 points in regulation and doing so without Jaylen Brown. Led by Jayson Tatum's 37 points on 12/25 shooting, an aggressive mentality that, combined with the Jazz committing 20 turnovers, led to 50 points in the paint, Boston did enough offensively to win this game. The Celtics also moved the ball effectively, something not entirely captured by their 23 assists on 47 made field goals.
However, while the Celtics played well defensively for much of the game, they also surrendered the most threes in franchise history. The Jazz connected on 27 of 51 long-range attempts (52.9 percent). Plenty of those came on contested shots, but Utah also generated a few open looks from beyond the arc late in the game. That, plus a pair of alley-oops to Gobert and a tough layup by Mitchell against Marcus Smart that turned into a three-point play, helped the Jazz go on a 21-9 run that lasted from when there was 4:07 left on the clock until Mike Conley iced the game with two free throws to put Utah up seven with 14.7 seconds remaining.
It was a difficult way for the Celtics to lose a game they invested a lot into at the start of a challenging west coast road trip.
Up Next
The Celtics don't have much time to recover from Friday night's loss. Boston, now 12-11, takes on the 11-12 Portland Trail Blazers, who won't have Damian Lillard (lower abdominal tendinopathy) on Saturday night. Tip-off is at 10:00 PM EST.
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