Donovan Mitchell Leads Jazz to Win vs. Jaylen Brown, Celtics
The Utah Jazz moved to an NBA-best 20-5 by defeating the visiting Boston Celtics 122-108 at Vivint Arena on Tuesday.
Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell dominated with 36 points and nine assists, making 12 of 23 field goals and six of 13 three-pointers.
The Jazz, who have won five straight games and 16 of 17, were without Mike Conley (right hamstring injury). Joe Ingles replaced Conley in the starting five and posted 24 points on 5-of-12 shooting and six assists.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (left knee soreness) returned to the lineup after a two-game absence and amassed 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting.
The C's, who have lost five of their last seven games, fell to 12-11 with the defeat.
Notable Performances
Celtics G Jaylen Brown: 33 points, 8 rebounds
Celtics F Jayson Tatum: 23 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
Celtics PF/C Daniel Theis: 15 points, 4 rebounds
Jazz G Donovan Mitchell: 36 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds
Jazz C Rudy Gobert: 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jazz G/F Joe Ingles: 24 points, 6 assists
Mitchell, Ingles Steal Show in Salt Lake City
Conley has been a huge reason the Jazz have excelled this season, as he's averaged 16.5 points on 45.0 percent shooting, 5.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. His 20.0 player efficiency rating ranks third in his 14-year career, helping the Jazz jump out to an 18-5 start during his first 23 games starting at the point.
Unfortunately, Conley is sidelined for the time being, forcing the Jazz to call on their reinforcements and asking other members to pick up more slack.
Conley's only been out two games, but the Jazz have gone 2-0 thus far thanks to their deep and talented roster.
On Tuesday, Mitchell and Ingles were Utah's stars. The two of them played a key role in facilitating the offense, combining for 15 assists.
Mitchell arguably authored the pass of the game, firing this crosscourt dart to Royce O'Neale for a wide-open three after drawing in the Celtics defense:
Ingles did his part, too, entering the lane before lobbing a pass up to Rudy Gobert for the slam:
Of course, Utah's leading scorer in Mitchell got buckets as well, hitting a three-pointer on the elbow en route to a four-point play:
The ex-Louisville star was also excellent in the mid-range, getting the best of Semi Ojeleye and Brown on separate occasions:
However, the shot of the day came courtesy of Ingles, who nailed a clutch three-pointer off a Mitchell feed to give Utah a 111-104 edge with 3:04 remaining. Tony Jones of The Athletic succinctly relayed the importance of that shot:
From there, Mitchell iced the game with a free throw plus a 30-foot three-pointer:
Mitchell has caught fire of late, as ESPN's Tim MacMahon noted:
The Jazz started the season 4-4, losing three of those games by 11 or more points.
Thanks to a scorching-hot Mitchell, Ingles, Rudy Gobert and the rest of a phenomenal rotation, that start is far in the rearview mirror now.
Kemba Walker's Struggles Continue
Kemba Walker is a four-time All-Star who averaged 25.6 points per game just two years ago.
His decision to sign a four-year deal and join the C's last year after an eight-year stint with the Charlotte Hornets was a huge step toward Boston making a leap and coming within two wins of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
However, injuries have clearly hampered Walker, to the point where he's missed significant stretches of time and looked like a shell of his normally excellent self. A left knee injury that hampered him in 2019-20 forced him to miss time in the beginning of the 2020-21 season as he underwent a 12-week strengthening program, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.
Walker returned to the C's on Jan. 17 and told reporters that he was pain-free.
"I felt really comfortable making my moves. [I was] pain-free, which I haven't been for a very long time.
"It feels weird actually not having pain, if that makes sense. It's kind of a weird feeling. I've been hurt for a very long time, so I was really just happy to get out there, just super excited. It was fun. I can't wait to get back out there."
Walker being pain-free is obviously an excellent best-case health scenario considering the trials and tribulations he went through last year.
Unfortunately, the on-court results have not followed. After a seven-point night on 2-of-12 shooting, Walker is now averaging 15.0 points per game, marking his lowest figure since his rookie year in 2011-12. He's also shooting 34.2 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from three-point range.
Walker is now 6-of-32 in his last two games after shooting 4-of-20 against the Phoenix Suns. He also has 3-of-13 and 1-of-12 games on his resume, and the C's are 3-7 with him in the lineup this year.
After the game, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens expressed confidence in Walker's ability to turn it around as well as noting his importance to the team's success.
"If we're going to be what we want to be, I really, really believe he's going to be that guy," Stevens told reporters.
The C's have 49 regular-season games remaining, and Walker's season is only 10 games old. A turnaround that involves recapturing some of the magic everyone knows he's capable of performing on a regular basis is certainly plausible.
But the Celtics really need that to happen. At this juncture, they're failing to keep pace with the Eastern Conference's best teams in the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, who are the clear front-runners to represent the East in the NBA Finals.
The playoffs are still months away, and no one else in the East (somehow) is better than two games over .500, but Walker's improvement would go a long way toward Boston returning as one of the conference's top teams.
What's Next?
The Jazz will stay home to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. The C's will return home to host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in TD Garden.
