(Rob Gray-Imagn Images)
Final: Celtics 129, Jazz 119 - White dominates second half
BOSTON CELTICS (19-12) at UTAH JAZZ (12-19)
Regular season game 32
Delta Center, 9:00 p.m. - NBCS Boston
SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Slightly Utah. Both were away in their previous game, but the Jazz were in San Antonio on Saturday while Boston played at Portland on Sunday. The Jazz have an extra day off.
Utah has won two in a row.
INJURIES
Boston: Chris Boucher (OUT-personal reasons), Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles)
Utah: Ace Bailey (OUT-hip), Walker Kessler (OUT-shoulder), Kevin Love (OUT-rest), Georges Niang (OUT-foot), Keyonte George (QUESTIONABLE-illness)
OFFICIALS
James Williams (#60) Scott Twardoski (#52) Michael Smith (#38)
THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR
1. Keyonte George: Boston’s chances at winning this game improve greatly if George doesn’t play. He has single-handedly changed the trajectory of the Jazz, and is the head of the snake for Utah. Everything flows off of his scoring. That's not to say Boston can cruise if George sits out, but it does put pressure on young Jazz players like Brice Sensabaugh to pick up the slack.
2. Tighten up the execution: The Jazz are slowly figuring out how to play together, so it will take a little something extra to get past them. The way Boston executed down the stretch won’t be good enough to get the job done.
They just need to be mentally sharp. Plays like this won’t cut it.
You can hear Joe Mazzulla yell for Neemias Queta to help Brown right before this turnover (and amazing play by White). Too mechanical here and not enough recognition of what the defense is doing and how to help. pic.twitter.com/txAvROxFb3
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) December 29, 2025
Jaylen Brown retreats to a boundary line, essentially giving the Blazers a third defender. That would have been fine if Neemias Queta read that there was no double team and short rolled instead of clearing out. Just bad recognition … a low-IQ play for a high-IQ team.
3. Jaylen Brown going for 30: He has a chance to pass Larry Bird and become the only player in team history to do something. That's a big deal for Brown. I think he’s going to go for it a little harder than he’s gone for it before.
Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.
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