Final: Celtics 122, Jazz 114 - Brogdon, Tatum, polish off Jazz with big second half

Game 78: Celtics (-10) vs Utah Jazz, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari

QUESTIONABLE- Al Horford (low back stiffness), Jaylen Brown (low back), Jayson Tatum (hip), Payton Pritchard (heel)

DOUBTFUL: Robert Williams (knee injury management)

Utah: OUT- Jordan Clarkson (hand), Rudy Gay (back), Lauri Markkanen (hand), Collin Sexton (hamstring)

Jazz Probable Starters: Simone Fontecchio, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Walker Kessler, Ochai Agbaji, Talen Horton-Tucker

Refs: Tony Brothers (#25), Karl Lane (#77), Dedric Taylor (#21)

Last time they played: Jazz 118, Celtics 117, March 18 - 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. 

A little something about this game: The Jazz are 14-24 on the road. Their win over San Antonio broke a four-game losing streak. Talen Horton-Tucker, who will be Utah’s primary weapon in this one, scored a career-high 41 points to beat San Antonio. The Jazz are 1.5 games out of the Western Conference play-in tournament.

Things I’m looking for: 

- Reward for role players: This is going to be a chance for some of the guys who have taken a step back to go for theirs and put up some big numbers. I’m looking at Malcolm Brogdon, specifically, to come out and go for a 40 point night just to show that he’s still capable of something big when he gets more reps. The same can go for Grant Williams and Derrick White. Got get your numbers, fellas.

- Two-way time? This is likely going to be a chance for a lot of end of bench guys to get some real run in front of the home crowd. This is a good opportunity for Mfiondu Kabengele and JD Davison, whose G League seasons are over, to spend a Friday night entertaining the Boston crowd. I’m also trying to speak this into existence because I really want to write a fun and interesting piece tonight and these guys getting a chance to put on a little show would be just that. C’mon fellas, throw me a bone after all you’ve put me through the past few weeks. 

- Rebound!: Walker Kessler killed the Celtics in Utah. Maybe these other guys getting their opportunity will give them the energy actually box out. 

If you want to pass the time before the game, here’s the latest Locked On Celtics podcast after last night’s win in Milwaukee.  

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.