Game ID: 22500459
Boston Celtics @ Utah Jazz
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM ET
Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
UTA 38 26 32 23 119BOS 31 28 40 30 129
BOS @ UTA ScoutingBOS @ UTA Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
UTA availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Markkanen missed 2 since 12/18, returns tonight: 36 min (106% of 34)
OUT Kessler missed 22 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 13 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 2 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 27 since 10/22, out tonight
UTA availability going into 12/23 · back-to-backOUT Kessler missed 23 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 14 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 3 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 28 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 12/22 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
NEW Love 17 to 23 min over the last 3
UTA availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Kessler missed 24 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 15 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 4 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 29 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 12/22 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
NEW Love 17 to 26 min over the last 3
UTA availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Kessler missed 25 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 16 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 5 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 30 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 12/22 after 2, 37 min since (109% of 34)
NEW Love 17 to 23 min over the last 4
UTA availability going into 12/30 · 2 days' restOUT Kessler missed 26 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 17 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 6 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 31 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 12/22 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
NEW Love 17 to 26 min over the last 3
UTA availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Kessler missed 27 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Bailey missed 2 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 18 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 7 since 12/18, returns tonight: 32 min (158% of 20)
OUT Love missed 2 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 32 since 10/22, returns tonight: 15 min (89% of 17)
BACK Markkanen back 12/22 after 2, 37 min since (107% of 34)
NEW Nurkić 26 to 32 min over the last 4
NEW Sensabaugh 24 to 29 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Kessler missed 28 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Bailey missed 3 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Harkless missed 19 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Love missed 3 since 12/27, returns tonight: 24 min (146% of 17)
BACK Anderson back 1/01 after 7, 32 min since (158% of 20)
BACK Tshiebwe back 1/01 after 32, 15 min since (89% of 17)
NEW Sensabaugh 24 to 30 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Kessler missed 29 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Bailey missed 4 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Nurkić missed 2 since 1/01, returns tonight: 31 min (117% of 26)
OUT Harkless missed 20 since 11/21, out tonight
BACK Anderson back 1/01 after 7, 32 min since (158% of 20)
BACK Love back 1/03 after 3, 24 min since (146% of 17)
BACK Tshiebwe back 1/01 after 32, 15 min since (89% of 17)
NEW Sensabaugh 24 to 33 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Kessler missed 30 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Bailey missed 5 since 12/27, returns tonight: 10 min (37% of 28)
OUT Harkless missed 21 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Anderson missed 2 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Tshiebwe missed 2 since 1/03, out tonight
BACK Nurkić back 1/05 after 2, 31 min since (117% of 26)
BACK Love back 1/03 after 3, 24 min since (146% of 17)
NEW Sensabaugh 24 to 31 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/20 · back-to-backOUT Garza missed 4 since 12/07, returns tonight: 26 min (166% of 16)
OUT Boucher missed 10 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Walsh 17 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 11 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 26 min since (166% of 16)
BOS availability going into 12/26 · 3 days' restOUT Boucher missed 12 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 25 min since (162% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 13 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 26 min since (165% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 14 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 22 min since (142% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 15 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 21 min since (137% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 4 since 12/26, returns tonight: 3 min (18% of 16)
OUT Boucher missed 16 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 21 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 17 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Minott back 1/03 after 4, 3 min since (18% of 16)
BOS availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 18 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Minott back 1/03 after 4, 3 min since (18% of 16)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 129, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Markkanen at 29 and George at 26 a game. Without Kessler (26 straight), Harkless (17 straight), Anderson (6 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brown at 32 and White at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Minott (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 109 a night to Utah's 129 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Utah minus-2. Call it Boston 122, Utah 117.
12/22 @ DEN 112-135 — UTA notes
UTA lost 112-135. UTA shot 43% (41 of 96) to DEN's 50%, 14 of 41 from three, and got to the line 19 times to DEN's 25. Markkanen led with 27 (10 of 20, 2 of 9 from three); George added 20, Nurkić 17. Q3 was theirs, 38-34, the deficit cut from 23 to 19, but the other 3 periods went 101-74 against them. Nurkić's -31 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 vs MEM 128-137 — UTA notes
UTA lost 128-137. UTA shot 44% (40 of 90) to MEM's 56%, 16 of 45 from three, and went to the line 36 times to MEM's 29 — 32 points from the stripe to their 20. Filipowski led with 25 (9 of 15, 2 of 3 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); George added 24, Hendricks 21. Q2 was theirs, 36-32, the deficit cut from 6 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 105-92 against them. Hendricks's -9 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/26 vs DET 131-129 — UTA notes
UTA won 131-129. UTA shot 49% (44 of 90) to DET's 52%, 18 of 38 from three. George led with 31 (12 of 22, 5 of 10 from three); Markkanen added 30, Sensabaugh 20. The hinge was Q3, 44-35: UTA came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 15. UTA trailed 67-68 at the half and won the second half 64-61. Mykhailiuk was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
12/27 @ SAS 127-114 — UTA notes
UTA won 127-114. UTA shot 54% (45 of 83) to SAS's 43%, 17 of 37 from three. Markkanen led with 29 (11 of 16, 5 of 6 from three); George added 28, Clayton Jr. 17. The hinge was Q2, 38-20: UTA came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 17. Clayton Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
12/30 vs BOS 119-129 — UTA notes
UTA lost 119-129. UTA shot 47% (41 of 87) to BOS's 51%, 16 of 42 from three. UTA turned it over 13 times to BOS's 7, and BOS turned those into 8 steals. George led with 37 (13 of 24, 6 of 12 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Nurkić added 26, Markkanen 22. Q1 was theirs, 38-31, but the other 3 periods went 98-81 against them. They led by as many as 12. Filipowski's -19 in 14 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/01 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 98, shooting 49 percent and 44 from three, 28 free throws a game; Leonard at 38 and Harden at 27 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Zubac (4 straight), Bogdanović (2 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 129, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; George at 28 and Markkanen at 27 a game. Without Kessler (27 straight), Bailey (2 straight), Harkless (18 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 98 a night to Utah's 129 and the turnovers, Utah giving it away 14 times a game to the Clippers' 10. Call it the Clippers 123, Utah 113, the Clippers by 10.
1/03 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 124, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 26 free throws a game; Ste. Curry at 29 and Butler III at 18 a game. Without Kuminga (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 125, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 29 free throws a game; George at 30 and Markkanen at 27 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Kessler (28 straight), Bailey (3 straight), Harkless (19 straight). One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Golden State 122, Utah 120, Utah keeping it close.
1/05 @ POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Portland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Avdija at 26 and Sharpe at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Holiday (24 straight), Grant (9 straight), Henderson (36 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 123, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; George at 30 and Markkanen at 29 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Kessler (29 straight), Bailey (4 straight), Nurkić (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Portland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Portland has been plus-6 a night and Utah minus-6 and the defense, Portland allowing 115 a night to Utah's 123. Call it Portland 121, Utah 117, Utah keeping it close.
1/07 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 29 and Holmgren at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Hartenstein (5 straight), J. Williams (11 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 124, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Markkanen at 27 and George at 26 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Kessler (30 straight), Bailey (5 straight), Harkless (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 110 a night to Utah's 124 and the turnovers, Utah giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 124, Utah 112, OKC by 12.
12/20 @ TOR 112-96 — BOS notes
BOS won 112-96. BOS shot 46% (44 of 95) to TOR's 41%, 12 of 39 from three. The glass went 55-37 for them. Pritchard led with 33 (13 of 24, 4 of 9 from three); White added 15, Simons 15. The hinge was Q4, 29-16: a lead of 3 became 16. BOS trailed 49-51 at the half and won the second half 63-45. González was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
12/22 vs IND 103-95 — BOS notes
BOS won 103-95. BOS shot 43% (38 of 89) to IND's 39%, 11 of 37 from three. The glass went 49-36 for them. Brown led with 31 (11 of 25, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); White added 19, Pritchard 11. The hinge was Q4, 29-13: BOS came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 8. BOS trailed 43-61 at the half and won the second half 60-34. González was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
12/26 @ IND 140-122 — BOS notes
BOS won 140-122. BOS shot 57% (47 of 83) to IND's 49%, 20 of 39 from three, and went to the line 34 times to IND's 20 — 26 points from the stripe to their 16. Brown led with 30 (13 of 20, 2 of 3 from three); Pritchard added 29, Hauser 23. The hinge was Q2, 47-22: BOS came in trailing by 11 and left it ahead by 14, and the lead reached 28. Garza was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
12/28 @ POR 108-114 — BOS notes
BOS lost 108-114. BOS shot 44% (40 of 91) to POR's 47%, 13 of 44 from three. Brown led with 37 (14 of 23, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); González added 13, Simons 13. Q2 was theirs, 33-24, turning a 1-point deficit into a 8-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 90-75 against them. They led by as many as 10. Simons's -15 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/30 @ UTA 129-119 — BOS notes
BOS won 129-119. BOS shot 51% (48 of 94) to UTA's 47%, 13 of 44 from three. BOS turned it over 7 times to UTA's 13. White led with 27 (8 of 16, 2 of 10 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 23, Simons 20. The hinge was Q3, 40-32: BOS came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 3. BOS trailed 59-64 at the half and won the second half 70-55. Simons was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/01 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 125, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; DeRozan at 21 and Westbrook at 19 a game. Without LaVine (7 straight), Sabonis (19 straight), Plowden (21 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and Pritchard at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Minott (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 109 a night to Sacramento's 125 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Sacramento plus-0. Call it Boston 119, Sacramento 112.
1/03 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 100, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 29 free throws a game; Leonard at 40 and Harden at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Zubac (5 straight), Bogdanović (3 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and White at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Minott (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and the Clippers minus-3 and the defense, the Clippers allowing 100 a night to Boston's 111. Call it the Clippers 115, Boston 112, Boston keeping it close.
1/05 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 34 and White at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 118, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Vučević at 20 and Buzelis at 16 a game. Without Giddey (3 straight), White (3 straight), Collins (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to Chicago's 33 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Chicago plus-1. Call it Boston 123, Chicago 113, Boston by 10.
1/07 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 31 and White at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 123, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Murray at 26 and Watson at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Jokić (4 straight), Johnson (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Denver minus-10 and the defense, Boston allowing 111 a night to Denver's 123. Call it Boston 122, Denver 113.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
UTABS B. Sensabaugh
CW C. Williams
IC I. Collier
JN J. Nurkić
KF K. Filipowski
KG K. George
LM L. Markkanen
NU Nurkic
TH T. Hendricks
WC W. Clayton Jr.
BOSAS A. Simons
BS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
GO Gonzalez
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
UTA/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Derrick White has 27 points and 7 blocks to lead Celtics past Jazz 129-119
SALT LAKE CITY -- — Derrick White scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and added a career-high seven blocks in a one-of-a-kind performance Tuesday night that carried the Boston Celtics to a 129-119 win over the Utah Jazz .
White became the 13th player in NBA history to have 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and seven blocks in a game. But he was the first guard — or member of the Celtics — to post that statistical combination.
Jaylen Brown had 23 points and 10 assists for Boston, ending his streak of 30-point games at nine. He remained tied with Celtics great Larry Bird, who had nine straight 30-point games in February and March of 1985.
Anfernee Simons scored 20 points and Payton Pritchard added 18 for the Celtics, who have won five of six.
Keyonte George , listed as questionable with an illness until a couple of hours before tipoff, scored 37 points for the Jazz. Jusuf Nurkic had a season-high 26 and Lauri Markkanen added 22.
Utah rested rotation regulars Svi Mykhailiuk and Kevin Love , and rookie Ace Bailey was out with a hip injury.
Nurkic's free throw drew Utah within four, but Brown, Pritchard and Simons made three straight shots to balloon the Boston lead to 123-112 with 3:56 to play. The Jazz never got within seven after that.
Utah committed 13 turnovers that led to 23 points for Boston while only scoring five points off the Celtics' eight turnovers.
Some extraordinary shotmaking was on display but both teams allowed a bevy of straight-line drives to the basket and wide-open 3-pointers. White's blocks (tied for the most by an NBA guard) and Neemias Queta 's three steals were the exceptions on defense.
The Jazz led by 12 in the first quarter after beating Detroit 131-129 at home and then surprising San Antonio on the road 127-114 last week.
Up next Celtics: Play at Sacramento on Thursday, the fourth stop on their five-game trip.