The Celtics' long, western road swing finally came to an end on Monday night with a gritty, 110-107 overtime victory in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz, undoubtedly one of their biggest wins of the season. An exhausted Paul Pierce, quiet in the first half, took over in the fourth quarter and OT, scoring 13 of his 26 points over that stretch and single-handedly putting together a 7-0 run in the extra period to give the Celts a five-point cushion they wouldn't relinquish.
Avery Bradley scored a season-high 18 for the Celts, who put six players in double figures in finishing off the five-game trip at 2-3. Pierce added eight assists and seven rebounds to his game high 26 while Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 10 rebounds in a resilient, mentally tough performance for the entire team.
It was a game of runs, with each team reeling off 17-2 stretches on separate occasions and the Jazz using a 13-2 burst to take a fourth quarter lead after trailing by eight at the end of the third.
Jason Terry hit four three-pointers to account for 12 of his 14 points while Brandon Bass finished with 15 and Courtney Lee with 14. The C's shot 48 percent for the game and left with the win despite getting pounded on the glass and in the paint.
Ex-Celtic Al Jefferson, who has still never beaten his first ever team since being traded for KG in 2007, had 15 and 11 for Utah while former Final Four star Gordon Hayward paced the Jazz with 26 points, including 4-of-7 from long range. For more on the game from the Jazz perspective, hit up SLC Dunk.