Rapid Recap is designed for the busiest of Celtics fans. Whether you can’t stay awake to read 10 paragraphs or your hangover is just too much, Rapid Recap tells the timeline of the game in only a minute or two.
It’s hard to win when you shoot just 37.2%, and even worse (27.8%) on threes. And that’s why the Celtics lost at home – their third straight L on the parquet – to the Utah Jazz, 99-94, a game that wasn’t as close as the final score.
Birthday boy Marcus Smart led all scorers with 29, but made just 9-of-23 shots (and 6-of-15 from the arc). Jayson Tatum came back to earth, scoring just 18 on 7-of-19 shooting, ending his five-game streak of 32 points or more. And Kemba Walker was not himself, making just 5-of-17 for 13 points. Daniel Theis was one of the few bright spots, with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and solid defense.
To their credit, the starters were all in the positive for plus-minus, but the bench was brutal and deeply into the minus side.
Utah was led by Mike Conley, who killed the Cs all night and finished with 29 points (9-of-16, with 6 threes), and Jordan Clarkson’s 17 points (more than the entire Boston bench). Joe Ingles was steady with a team-high 6 assists.
Surely you’re not surprised that Boston was shorthanded.
#NEBHInjuryReport for tomorrow vs Utah:
Jaylen Brown (right hamstring strain) – OUT
Gordon Hayward (right knee contusion) – OUT— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 5, 2020
Smart made his first 3 threes in the first quarter.
The birthday boy for three 🥳 pic.twitter.com/luRgHHE1sE
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2020
Daniel Theis made an early impact.
Celtics are running that seal play for Theis to block out Rudy Gobert almost every time and it's working perfectly. They're negating Gobert defensively right now
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) March 7, 2020
Theis getting it done on both ends 💪 pic.twitter.com/cmKTQh4ho3
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2020
The Celtics built a 27-16 lead…
Celtics opened the game 10-of-13 from the field before that last miss.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) March 7, 2020
… until the Jazz closed the quarter with a 14-2 run, during which Enes Kanter smoked two bunnies. We didn’t know it then, but the Celts would never lead again.
That was a horrendous final three minutes of the quarter by the local squadron
— Handsome B. Wonderful (@JamPackard) March 7, 2020
EARLY RETURNS: The #Jazz go on 14-2 run, lead the #Celtics 30-29 after 1Q.✅
✅Mike Conley (9 pts, 2 assists)
✅Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum ( 9 pts apiece)
✅Bench scoring (Utah 11 pts, the C's … big fat goose egg)— A. Sherrod Blakely (@ASherrodblakely) March 7, 2020
A 10-2 Utah run gave them a 51-39 lead after 5 minutes of the second quarter. And it got worse, as the Jazz shot 23-of-39 (59%) for the half, including 13-of-22 (59.1%) from the arc.
43-18 run seems less than ideal
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) March 7, 2020
#Celtics capsizing since their bench rotated in. 32-12 run going back to midway through the 1st for the #Jazz.
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) March 7, 2020
The Jazz had 19 points with 3 minutes to go in the 1st quarter and they still put up 62 points
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) March 7, 2020
Halftime: Jazz 62, Celtics 49
☘️ Smart: 15 PTS
☘️ Tatum: 9 PTS, 4 REB
🎷 Conley: 15 PTS, 4 AST— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) March 7, 2020
HALF: Jazz 62, Celtics 49
I said it this morning: Utah's offense has been sizzling over its last three games, and that has carried over to tonight. Jazz enter halftime shooting 60.5% from the field, 61.9% from 3.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) March 7, 2020
The bad news continued in the third quarter.
Conley has already tied his season high with five 3-pointers. Still 10:00 left in the third.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 7, 2020
Utah was up 16 when the Celtics went to a zone defense that helped them to an 11-0 run, cutting the lead to 65-60.
Boston's zone has frustrated Utah here in the second half.
Celtics are also up to 8 offensive rebounds for the game.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 7, 2020
The Celtics have played multiple possessions of a 3-2 hybrid zone, and you will 100 percent see that again against Milwaukee.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) March 7, 2020
Theis for 2️⃣+1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/tYTSkmxUMx
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2020
Tatum wasn’t shooting well, but he did this.
GOT IT! pic.twitter.com/w7p7J7KLSh
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2020
Jazz rebuilt their lead to 11.
Kemba +6. Wanamaker -28.
— Chuck M. (@McK_Chuck) March 7, 2020
Brad Stevens won a challenge (although the Jazz scored anyway after winning a jump ball).
Call reversed – no goaltending pic.twitter.com/ZhyX1QUgLj
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) March 7, 2020
Just two points for the Celtics in the final 4:54 of the third quarter.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) March 7, 2020
After the 3rd, nothing had changed from halftime.
Man, the Celtics are just making uncharacteristic decisions tonight. Some ugly play, but still a quarter left to make a run at a win. They enter the 4Q down 79-66.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) March 7, 2020
Bad, bad night for Plumber Brad.
That Wanamaker airball from three feet on a wide open look was a Hall of Fame level miss.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 7, 2020
Shockingly the Celtics bench looks bad when two starters are missing
— Jayson al Gaib (@Handsome_Jake_) March 7, 2020
And the shooting, or lack thereof…
The Celtics hit four 3-pointers during the first 4:09 of tonight's game.
They have hit four more over the ~36 minutes since.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) March 7, 2020
Down 87-78, the Celtics got several consecutive stops on defense, which was a trend.
Jazz were 13 for 21 on threes in the first half and are 3 for 17 in the second, but their lead hasn't shrunk.
Cs shooting 36.7 and 27.6.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 7, 2020
But Smart and Grant Williams missed wide open threes on consecutive possessions, squandering chances to put pressure on Utah. Then Conley drained a three to push the lead back to 12 with 5 minutes left.
Mike Conley has killed the Celtics tonight.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 7, 2020
Tonight is just the third instance this season in which Mike Conley has scored more than 22 points. He has 23 with 3+ minutes left.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) March 7, 2020
Boston got it down to 7 at 96-89, but on two straight possessions Wanamaker ended up missing threes – badly, one of them an airball. Those were the final nails. Utah scored only 37 in the second half and still were never in danger.
Just 60 points for Celtics tonight over the final three quarters.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) March 7, 2020
Jazz 99, Celtics 94. Final.
That buzzer Smart 3 saved the Cs from their lowest scoring game of the year. But it was still ugly.
37.2 shooting overall and 27.8 from three.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 7, 2020
Jazz win 99-94.
Smart – 29 points
Tatum – 18 points
Walker – 13 points
Theis – 12 points
Celtics – 10-36 3-point shootingConley – 25 points
Clarkson – 17 points
Mitchell – 11 points
Jazz – 17-45 3-point shooting— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 7, 2020
The Celtics returned home from the west coast 35-1 this year when leading by 11+. They've lost 3 of 4 since, all at home.
2019-20 CELTICS AT HOME – LEADING BY 11
First 19: 19-0
Last 3: 0-3— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 7, 2020
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