Through 54 games this season, the Utah Jazz allowed a league-low 95.7 points per game. In Game 55, the Celtics had no trouble dealing with that. Boston shot a season-best 59.2%, never trailed during the 48 minutes, and chalked up a 112-104 win. Six Celts were in double figures, led by Isaiah Thomas with 29 points. Gordon Hayward scored a game-high 31.
The Game Flow:
The Cs were on fire in the first quarter, making 14 of their 18 field goal attempts (77.8%). That included 20 points in the paint and 3-5 from three. They closed the quarter with Marcus Smart stripping the ball and pushing it up quickly for a Kelly Olynyk off-the-wrong-foot layup to beat the buzzer. IT had 11 points in the period as Boston led, 33-23.
Unlike most nights, the Cs avoided struggling in the second quarter, shooting 10-18. Gerald Green got hot with a dozen points in the frame, including a very deep three late in the shot clock. When Al Horford drained a triple from straightaway, the lead soared to 53-34. Utah made a late push, but going to halftime the Cs led comfortably, 58-44.
Bad news to start the third: Jaylen Brown was ruled out for the rest of the night with a strained hip. Then five minutes in, Smart hit the floor and couldn’t get up, finally hobbling off – fortunately, suffering from just cramps. James Young was pressed into action and scored off a sneakaway from an Olynyk steal, then drilled a trey. Utah increased their aggression in the quarter, but couldn’t capitalize on several open looks and offensive rebounds. An 11-2 run for Boston was highlighted by Olynyk knocking down a pair of threes and rejecting Rudy Gobert at the rim. At the buzzer, the Cs were still shooting 58.2% from the floor and held a 77-65 lead.
Smart opened the fourth with a layup, then stole the ball twice, which led to threes by Horford and Thomas. The 8-0 run suddenly ballooned the lead to 20 points with 10:18 remaining. With the score 98-76, Utah ran off eight straight to give themselves some hope. But IT started looking at his wrist, dropping two free throws and a triple. Utah, though, kept up the pressure and eventually got the lead down to eight with 1:18 left, then six with 21 seconds remaining. But the Celts made their free throws and ran out the clock.
Not a good look to be surprised by full-court pressure when inbounding after a made free throw. But that happened to the Celtics in the first quarter, and they were forced to burn a 20-second timeout.
Also, the Jazz wore alternate uniforms that were more hideous than even the Celtics’ grey pajamas. Dark purple vs. dark green made for unpleasant viewing.
(Maybe you can tell: not much went wrong tonight.)
Can’t single out any individual because everyone played so well. Olynyk, who was aggressive all night, had 19 points (8-11 shooting), while Green had 16 (7-8) and Young added 10 (4-7). Horford was also solid with 14 points on 6-9 shooting and eight boards. And Smart contributed his usual boatload of winning plays, posting 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Here’s one of the best moments:
Smart ➡️ Horford 💪 https://t.co/7Y6BdsclOf
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 12, 2017
IT was not intimidated whatsoever by 7-foot-1 Rudy Gobert. The Little Guy attacked the paint to drain a ceiling-scraping fadeaway over the shot-blocker in the first half, then attacked the rim with a right-handed reverse layup around the big in the second half. Of course, IT did other things, too, like scoring 12 in the fourth:
CHECK THAT ⌚️ ISAIAH!!! https://t.co/aBB1ENA6xQ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 12, 2017
The Grid:
- Isaiah Thomas, 29 points (38th consecutive game with 20+ points), 9-16 shooting, 4-7 threes, five assists
- Field goals: Celtics 42-71, Jazz 35-86
- Three-pointers: Celtics 13-30, Jazz 8-31
- Rebounds: Celtics 37, Jazz 39
- Avery Bradley was obviously still out with his Achilles problem, and Jae Crowder was not yet back from dealing with family health issues. Rodney Hood did not play for Utah, but George Hill was in the lineup (he scored 22 with four dimes) after missing the Celtics’ win over the Jazz last month.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
