Boston Celtics fend off a late Utah Jazz rally to win 110-107 in overtime: NBA Recap
Paul Pierce scored 26 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and took over the game in extra time as the Boston Celtics downed Utah Jazz 110-107 in overtime. Celtics played their 5th road game in the span of only 7 days, and that
too against the hot Jazz who are a dominant force in their home court. That’s what caused Celtics Coach Doc Rivers to term it as the ‘best win’ of the season for them.
"They got a lot of heart. It says a lot of good things. This is just a gut-check win for us. I mean, we are on fumes and hung in there, and hung in there and hung in there. It says a lot about this group."
Doc Rivers was all praise for his team tonight as they hung on to gain a vital win on the road.
Stand in point guard Avery Bradley had 18 points and 5 rebounds for the visitors. Kevin Garnett had another day at the double-double office with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Brandon Bass had 15 points and 2 steals.
Utah's Gordon Hayward came off the bench and matched Pierce point for point down the stretch as he finished off with 26 points and 3 assists for the night. Al Jefferson collected a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds while
Paul Millsap chipped in with 16 points for the Jazz.
It was a pretty close game as the lead switched a total of 13 times. It was an even start for both teams early on with no team piling up a major run at any stage of the quarter. Celtics led by a deuce at the end of the period.
The second quarter was all Jazz who put breaks on the Celtics scoring to head into the locker room holding a 5 point advantage.
However Celtics looked the better of two sides after the halftime break and outscored the Jazz 32-19 to head into the final quarter holding a comfortable lead. The Jazz were not to go down without a fight though and came back hard
in the fourth quarter to tie the score and take the game into overtime.
Overtime was the time for Pierce to take over. He nailed a three pointer to start the shows and then followed it with back to back jumpers to give his side an unassailable lead.
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