The Utah Jazz arrived at TD Garden on a three-game winning streak after dropping a home game to the Boston Celtics on Feb. 26 with the sting of the loss still on their minds.
The game began with a hail of 3-pointers, with Utah guards Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley going blow-for-blow with Boston forwards Jayson Tatum and Semi Ojeleye, the latter earning a start after his 22-point outburst against the Cleveland Cavaliers Mar. 4.
The Celtics began to pull away as guard Marcus Smart got hot from beyond the arc as well, but the Jazz would battle back, retaking a 30-29 lead on a Jordan Clarkson make with seconds left in the frame.
The second quarter began with center Enes Kanter cutting to the basket for a quick layup, but the Jazz stayed close with neither team getting much separation until Georges Niang and Joe Ingles helped push a lead to 47-37 with eight minutes left in the half.
Theis for 2️⃣+1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/tYTSkmxUMx
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2020
Utah would push their lead to as high as 16 points before Smart would cut the lead to 10, but a clutch trey from Mitchell in the half’s final seconds sent the Jazz into the break up 62-49.
The penultimate frame began with another Conley three, but Smart and point guard Kemba Walker would chip away at the lead until Ojeleye cut the lead to five.
Clarkson would help push the lead back up with a pair of late buckets that left Utah up 79-66 to start the fourth quarter.
The final frame saw Walker start to make a dent in the Jazz’ double-digit lead, but the Celtics could never quite get over the hump. Despite mounting a furious late comeback, Boston would fall to Utah 99-95.
The Jazz were led by Mike Conley’s 25 points and 5 assists, and Jordan Clarkson added 17 off the bench for Utah.
After going 39 for 62 over a scorching three-game stretch out West, Tatum is 27 for 70 in his three games since.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 7, 2020
Boston saw a big if inefficient night for Smart on his birthday with 29 points on 9-of-23 shooting, and Tatum managed to log 18 points and 7 rebounds despite going 7-of-19 from the floor as well.
Boston’s poor shooting was one of the biggest factors behind the loss, with the team shooting just 37.2 % overall, and 27.8 % from deep.
The Boston Celtics next face the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden on Sunday, Mar. 8 at 6pm ET.
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