Celtics 114, Utah 108

  • The Celtics entered this game without Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser, who filled the gaps, slipped into the starting lineup.
  • Sam Hasuer's big third quarter gave the Celtics a comfortable lead going into the fourth quarter. However, the Jazz surged back early in the fourth, forcing some crunch-time possessions.
  • Hauser joined some elite company, draining seven threes during the third — he did go for eight but gave a little too much on the attempt, with the shot hitting back iron.
  • Derrick White plugged the Tatum playmaking gap with 10 assists, Brown chipped in with 7 and Holiday had four. Colin Sexton found some success creating against the Celtics defense, ending the night with 13 dimes.
  • The Celtics have reeled off five straight wins since their Feb. 28 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In some ways, you can look at the Jazz as a mini-Celtics. Will Hardy is an exceptional coach, but has ties to the team from when he was on Ime Udoka’s staff. Danny Ainge is the reason Utah is playing draft pick roulette — just like he did with the Celtics after shipping out Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. So, with multiple connections between these two teams, it tracks that Utah came into the game with a point to prove.

After surging back into the game, Utah forced the Celtics to click into a higher gear — not their highest gear — but they definitely got out of 2nd. Still, credit to a team that’s languishing dead last in the Western Conference for pushing Mazzulla’s team right down to the final minutes of the game.

The Takeaways

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