Tuesday night’s Utah Jazz game was always going to be a tough challenge, even though the league-leading Boston Celtics were missing several key players.
With Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, it would be up to Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and the rest of the Celtics to put things together on the road against the Jazz.
Meanwhile, the Jazz were missing Lauri Markkanen, their top scorer. And rookie Taylor Hendricks was also held out, due to a toe injury.
Keyonte George did his best to keep the Jazz in the game early, scoring 11 points as the Jazz trailed 27-25 just 7 minutes into the first quarter.
The Celtics came calling at this point, outscoring the Jazz 17-8 to end the quarter with a 44-33 lead.
Jordan Clarkson and Micah Potter went on a mini tear to open the 2nd, putting the Jazz up 54-50 and momentarily waking up the Delta Center crowd.
The Celtics responded with another point, this one 17-7 to lead at halftime, 72-57.
In the 3rd, the Jazz battled back against the Celtics and tied the game at 2 with 36 seconds left in the quarter, before Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday hit baskets to cut the lead to 98-91 before the 4th quarter.
And then the Celtics clamped down defensively. After the final minute of the 3rd and until just under 6 minutes remained, Boston went on a 20-0 run to take control of the game. The final would be 123-107 for Boston.
Keyonte George led the Jazz with 26 points and 6 assists, while Jordan Clarkson had 21 off the bench and Collin Sexton had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 38 points, while Derrick White added 24. Sam Hauser made 4 three-pointers and finished with 14 points.
Percentage-wise, the Jazz actually shot better than the Celtics, with shooting splits of .477/.469/.909, compared to Boston’s .467/.408/.895. However, the Celtics made more shots than the Jazz.
Utah (28-37) stay in the lottery hunt with the defeat, remaining 9th for the moment. They stay at home for a few days, and will play their next home game Friday evening, against the Atlanta Hawks (29-35).
Jazz Player Contracts – The Good, the Bad and the Thefts!. Jazz Player Contracts – The Good, the Bad and the Thefts!. dark. Following
