Coming off a back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets that they split, the Boston Celtics (3-5) opened the month of November by hosting the Utah Jazz (3-4), falling at home for a second straight game in a 105-103 final. In a wild final 5 minutes, the Celtics fought back from an 8-point deficit, but the Jazz pulled ahead with 0.6 seconds left on a Jusuf Nurkic putback.
The Celtics rolled out a starting lineup of Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Josh Minott and Neemias Queta for a fifth straight game. The Jazz, who were without Walker Kessler for the night, ran with a starting five of Keyonte George, Svi Mykhailiuk, Lauri Markkanen, Taylor Hendricks and Nurkic.
The Celtics were led in scoring by Jaylen Brown (36 points), while the Jazz were led by George with 31 points. The Celtics struggled on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 65-43. Boston’s offense also had a rough night on its home floor, finishing just 42% from the field and 22% (11/51) from three.
The Celtics opened on a 10-0 run to start the game and led 14-2 entering its first timeout, aided by good ball movement and fast starts from Queta and Pritchard. The faucet ran cold for Boston though, and Utah closed the gap to 25-21 at the end of the first quarter behind 7 early points from George and a 12-5 bench scoring difference.
Boston’s bench unit came out slow in the second quarter, missing four of its first five shots while the Jazz tied the score at 27-27 with just under nine minutes to go in the half. Out of a timeout, the Celtics had a great response, forcing three quick turnovers, including a steal-and-score from Brown, while Simons knocked down three shots for a quick 8 points to take a 39-29 lead.
Behind Pritchard’s 15 points in the half, the Celtics outscored the Jazz 19-7 after that second quarter tie, taking a 46-36 lead into the break. The Jazz scored 20 points in the paint in the first half and won the rebound battle 36-28, but they shot just 31% from the field.
Brown aggressively attacked the basket in the third quarter, scoring 6 points all inside the 3-point arc in the first five minutes, but the Jazz hung around thanks to a hot start from George, who cut the lead to 54-49 with a steal and a layup with eight minutes to go. Utah’s offense had its own success attacking the paint, taking its first lead of the game at the 5-minute mark with an Elijah Harkless and-one. Adding to Boston’s shooting woes was Sam Hauser’s first missed free throw since 2023.
After a George triple to extend their lead to 66-61, the Jazz had it all going for them until Brown went on a personal 6-0 run where he hit a 3-in-the-key free throw, drove into a late shot-clock finger roll, and finished a transition and-one to lift Boston to a 67-66 lead with 2:46 left in the third. Brown and George each scored 16 points in the quarter, and the Jazz entered the fourth quarter with a slim 74-72 lead after a late 3-point play from Kyle Filipowski.
Early in the fourth, back-t0-back Utah threes pushed the lead to 8, while the Celtics struggled on the glass against a bigger Utah frontcourt.
Brown’s downhill aggression and a inbounds foul on Utah gave Boston life, and they cut the Utah lead to 97-96 with just over two minutes to play. As part of a 14-3 run, White finally got Boston back in front with an open triple with 1:53 left. Nurkic tied the game at the free throw line, but Brown answered right back with a fadeaway jumper to make it 101-99 Boston with 1:16 left.
In a wild final minute, the Jazz retook the lead when Brown was tripped on a drive and the play continued on into a Utah fastbreak. The Celtics responded when Brown dove for a loose ball on the ensuing possession and got the ball to Queta, who was fouled and tied the game from the line. In the final seconds, Nurkic recovered a rebound off a George miss, making the game-winning putback with 0.6 seconds left.
The Celtics will be back on their home floor on Wednesday, when they host the Washington Wizards on November 5 at 7:30 p.m.
