Celtics vs. Jazz: Boston Survives in Utah, Special Thanks to Mr. Allen
The Celtics are now 2-0 in the "Jeff Green Era" (though neither win can exactly be attributed to the play of Green).
Two-and-a-half minutes into tonight’s game the Celtics were trailing the Jazz 10-2, and Doc Rivers had seen enough, prompting him to call a timeout. Nine-and-a-half minutes later, the buzzer rang with the Celtics ahead 30-21, finishing the quarter on a 28-11 run.
Despite Paul Pierce dropping his first 16 points in the second quarter, the Jazz were able to cut down the Celtics' lead that had grown to 15. By halftime the lead had shrunk to merely three.
The second half was a close affair with neither club able to build a major lead.
The Celtics would maintain their lead throughout the third before a seesaw battle in the final period.
Utah was able to take back the lead for the first time since the first quarter—but it wouldn't last long, as the fourth saw eight lead-changes between the two teams. With five minutes to go, Ray Allen took control of the game.
Nailing two threes and the deepest two you could imagine, Allen totaled 10 in crunch time to help finish Boston's road trip on a winning note.
Allen had 25 points on the night to lead the way in Celtic scoring. Before Allen's late-game heroics, Kevin Garnett appeared to be the prime candidate for star of the night; Garnett recorded 18 points and 14 rebounds for another double-double (he did take home the "Tommy Award" for what it's worth).
Rajon Rondo also had a double-double—with assists, of course (16 PTS, 11 AST). Pierce scored 21, including 11-11 on free throws.
Al Jefferson was in "beast-mode" for most of the night, nearly going for 30 and 20 (28 PTS, 19 REB), but it wasn't enough to get Utah the W.
Other than Raja Bell, all Jazz starters were able to top 15 points (Devin Harris 19, Andrei Kirilenko 18, Paul Millsap 17), while their bench provided little on the night (18 points).
For the second game in both men’s tenures, Nenad Krstic was able to outplay Jeff Green.
With both seeing 27 minutes, Krstic put up 11 points (10 in the first) and five boards. Green only had five points with two boards, but did provide a moment with a "Lebron-esque" block in the fourth.
