BSJ Game Report: Jazz 118, Celtics 117 - C's fail to execute in final minute, fall to Utah

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' loss to the Utah Jazz, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White came out strong, with Brown really being aggressive early and helping Boston build a double-digit lead. That lead grew to 19 behind some excellent ball movement and Jayson Tatum leading a 3-point barrage. But that slowed in the second half of the quarter, and the Jazz went on a 23-11 run to close the half. They looked terrible throughout most of the third quarter, falling behind by 7, but they closed on a 16-6 run to retake the lead. For a while it looked like Grant Williams was going to shoot them to the win, but the Jazz kept piling up second-chance points and they took the lead for the first time in the fourth at the :35 mark. The Celtics couldn't execute after that. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

Rebounding … again: The Celtics were outscored 20-8 on second-chance points. They gave up 17 offensive rebounds and only got 5 of their own. Joe Mazzulla talks about the margins all the time, and this is one of those. We can look up and down the box score for reasons Boston lost, but this is right at the top of the list. 

Tatum’s roller coaster continues: The Jazz double-teamed him all night long, but outside of the second quarter, he had nothing tonight. And I’m not being facetious. He scored 15 points in the second quarter, and zero in the first, third, and fourth. A scoreless second half for Tatum is outrageous. The fact that Boston still had a chance to win after the offensive rebounding and Tatum’s lack of scoring is a borderline miracle. 

Third place: Technically, they're tied, but the Sixers are now percentage points behind the Sixers in third place. The Sixers have won 8 in a row and 9 of their last 10. I said they’d have to basically be perfect to climb out of the third seed, and they have been. 

TURNING POINT 

Boston was up 4 when Grant Williams got another great look from 3, but this time he just missed. The Jazz got the rebound and pushed it up ahead to Walker Kessler. Brown committed a flagrant foul, and while Kessler missed the free throws, they got a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. So instead of going up 7 and setting their defense on a Williams 3-pointer … or even getting the ball back up 4 after a regular foul after two Kessler misses … the Celtics were suddenly only up 1. The Jazz closed the game on an 8-2 run. 

SECOND GUESS

#1: Derrick White didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. Joe Mazzulla clearly went with more Malcolm Brogdon because of his size (and Brogdon was playing well), but there was no room at all for White to get some playing time? I find that hard to believe on a back-to-back with the Celtics as shorthanded as they were. 

#2: Brown is allowed to take last-second shots, right? He started out the season taking them, so maybe Mazzulla has gotten away from it for a reason. But Brown had been shooting well in this game, and he had just made a big 3-pointer that looked like it might seal the game. Why are the Celtics exclusively drawing up plays for Tatum at the end of these games? Why not use Tatum as a decoy, get the Jazz to switch a few times, and find Brown somewhere in the midrange for him to make a read from his comfort zone? Brown is one of the best in the league from that spot and Tatum was ice cold. Draw something up for your other star. 

Me, I’m combining both of these and going with White as the inbounder with Malcolm Brogdon, Tatum, Brown and Sam Hauser on the floor. Get the ball into Brogdon with Tatum and Brown screening for each other on the right side of the floor and Hauser giving space on the left. Guarantee Brogdon gets a good look at a shot or a pass. 

FIVE UP

Grant Williams: The last play notwithstanding, Williams had a very welcome bounce-back night with 23 points on 8-16 shooting and 7-12 from 3. Aside from the last play, I thought he made great plays all night long and he mostly kept his mouth shut about it. Hopefully he can build off that. 

Malcolm Brogdon: A wonderful night off the bench for Brogdon. He was 3-4 with 3 assists in the fourth quarter, so getting him one more touch would have made sense. He finished with 16 points on 50% shooting. 

Jaylen Brown: Did most of his damage in the first half and only got two fourth-quarter shots. He finished with 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. 

Luke Kornet: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists off the bench. He could have had more rebounds, honestly, so it wasn’t a great game, but still a nice performance. 

Mike Muscala: Boston’s bench was all in the positive for the night. Muscala gave the Celtics 8 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes.

TWO DOWN

Jayson Tatum: I knew where Tatum’s head was when he chose to foul the Jazz on a break rather than challenge the shot. He was scoreless in the second half, which is an indictment of his aggressiveness. More on Tatum’s night in a minute. 

Joe Mazzulla: He’s becoming Marge Simpson with a Chanel suit. He had a hit with the one last-second play for Tatum in the backcourt and catching the ball on the run, but now people have seen it and so he has to tweak the play some. At some point, everyone knows it’s basically a variation on the same thing, so he’ll have to go to something new. 

Seriously. Try something new. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER 

- If Tatum wants to play so badly, then play. Otherwise, take a seat. 

Tatum had nothing in this game. He was clearly tired, as most guys were on the back-to-back. 

So why was he playing? 

The Celtics have said multiple times that they’d like Tatum to sit out some games, but he keeps refusing because he loves to play.

That's all great, and I’m sure everyone appreciates the star who just refuses to sit. But if Tatum loves to play so much, then why wouldn’t he give a better effort than he did in this game? 

You either love to play and you’ll do anything to be on the floor, or you’re tired and you could use a day off. It’s one or the other. Don’t tell me you love to play basketball and that's why you don’t sit and then come out with that kind of “effort.” 

I know Tatum means well, but there has to be some self-awareness here. Either you're able to play and help the team, or you’re toast and need an extra day off. Pick one. 

Next up: The Celtics end their road trip in Sacramento Tuesday night at 10:00