Jazz @ Celtics: Where There's a D-Will, There's a Way

Magic was in the air tonight in Boston; with as poorly as the Jazz have played on the road against lower-echelon teams, there didn't seem to be much chance that they would prance into Boston and steal a win against the team with the best record in the NBA and winners of 10 straight. The Celtics had only lost 4 home games all year coming into tonight's game, and the road-weary Jazz didn't seem to be the best candidate to change any of that. However, in case you've forgotten already, magic was in the air tonight in Boston!

The Jazz came out with a bang in the first quarter. They finished the period with 33 points and dominated both ends of the court, holding Boston to 23 points. Carlos Boozer had a great first half; he seemed to blow past his defender and slide in for an easy layup every time he got the rock. He finished the half with 15 points, and the Jazz had a 13 point lead. You knew, however, that Boston was going to make a run -- and they did.

The Celtics limited the Jazz to 17 points in the third quarter, so heading into the fourth Utah hung onto a dangerous five-point lead. Enter Deron Williams. Sure, he played well in the first three quarters, but in the fourth he was downright nasty. He scored seven of the Jazz's 10 points during a 10-0 run to give Utah a nice cushion. On one drive to the basket, D-Will was hammered to the ground by Kendrick Perkins, resulting in a flagrant foul and two freebies for Williams. It seemed to stoke a fire in Deron: he drew a charge on the other end and then ran back on offense and punched in a huge three from the top of the key. All hope of a Celtics comeback was shattered. According to Paul Pierce, Utah was the neighborhood bully tonight and there was nothing the Celtics could do about it. All I know is I wouldn't want to be the little kid facing D-Will with no lunch money.

Game ball: Deron Williams, who else?! He made sure the Jazz didn't let this one slip out of their hands. He finished the game with 32 points and eight assists, just missing another double-double. That's all the Jazz needed to pull away from Boston on this night, however.

It was a huge win for the Jazz, and hopefully it will give them some major confidence heading into the season's homestretch. Utah has one more game on this road trip tomorrow in New Jersey, and then it's back to the royal confines of the EnergySolutions Arena for a five-game stand. Now is the time for Utah to make a final push for a top playoff seed!