MANILA – Utah Jazz leaned on a strong fourth-quarter run to score a 117-109 victory over Boston Celtics in the 2020-2021 National Basketball Association (NBA) Season on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with 21 points, while Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson chipped in 20 markers for the Jazz, which remained on top of the Western Conference with a 29-10 win-loss slate.
Mike Conley finished with 17 points; Rudy Gobert had double-double 16 points and 12 rebounds as Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 and 12 markers each for the Jazz.
Trailing for most of the game, the Jazz surged to a 90-81 advantage to start the fourth quarter on conversions from Clarkson, Georges Niang, and Gobert.
The Celtics rallied back and came to as close as 101-104 before the Jazz came up with a finishing rally on a triple by Mitchell and free throw conversions by Gobert.
Meanwhile, Tobias Harris came up with clutch baskets as Philadelphia 76ers edged New York Knicks, 99-96, at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
With the score tied at 92-all, Harris came up with back-to-back conversions to surge the 76ers ahead 96-92 but the Knicks cut it to 94-96 on a dunk by RJ Barrett.
The 76ers widened the lead to 97-94 on a free throw by Fukuan Korkmaz but the Knicks turned the ball over which led to game-sealing free throws by Harris.
Harris finished the match with 30 points, while Seth Curry added 20 markers, including four triples, as the 76ers remained on top of the Eastern Conference with a 28-12 win-loss slate.
In other results, Atlanta Hawks wallops Houston Rockets, 119-107; Chicago Bulls prevailed over Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-102; and Miami Heat manhandled Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-98.
BOX SCORE:
UTAH 117 — Mitchell 21, Clarkson 20, Conley 17, Gobert 16, Ingles 14, Bogdanovic 12, O’Neale 6, Favors 6, Niang 5.
BOSTON 109 — Tatum 29, Brown 28, Walker 16, Theis 15, R. Williams 14, Smart 5, G. Williams 2, Ojeleye 0, Teague 0, Pritchard 0.
Quarterscores: 20-22, 52-53, 77-79, 117-109./PN
