BOSTONThe Boston Celtics have proven in the past that as good as Rajon Rondo is, they do know how to win from time to time without him.
That was indeed the case on Wednesday as the Celtics managed to make all the necessary plays with a Rondo-less roster down stretch and squeak out a 98-93 win.
Utah's Mo Williams had a chance to put the Jazz ahead in the game's final seconds, but his runner down the baseline grazed the rim and was ultimately rebounded by Kevin Garnett.
Paul Pierce was fouled and made both free throws to give Boston a 96-93 lead with 19.5 seconds to play.
Following a Utah time-out, Jeff Green grabbed a missed lay-up attempt by Paul Millsap but was called for traveling on the play.
The Jazz used another time-out with 12.7 seconds to play.
Once again, Utah came up short on a shot and once again it was Garnett corraling the
Boston's late-game heroics may not have been needed if Rondo was able to play down the stretch.
He left the game with 4:55 to play in the third quarter after rolling his right ankle. Celtics officials said he was going to try and "give it a go" in the fourth, but it was clear that he was still in some pain.
As the players began to walk on to the court at the start of the fourth, Rondo was on the sideline with a noticeable limp to his step and did not attempt to enter the game.
It is unclear if Rondo will be able to play in Thursday night's game at Brooklyn.
The Utah Jazz were no different than most NBA teams that face the Boston Celtics.
Missed shots should never been seen as a missed opportunity to score on Boston, not with the struggles they have rebounding the ball at both ends of the floor.
Sadly for the C's, they stayed true to what is once again a significant weakness- rebounding. The Jazz pounded Boston on the boards by the tune of 48-33.
Even with the struggles rebounding, Boston came away with the only thing that truly matters right now as they try to continue making progress towards becoming the team they envision will be playing late into the month of June.
And if it takes some late-game success to happen along the way, so be it.
"We're a veteran ball club," said C's guard Jason Terry. "We thrive in situations where it's a tight ball game. We've all been in that situation plenty of times. We know what we have to do to close games out."