The top team in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, close out their Western Conference road swing this evening as they take on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Coverage for tonight's game, which is scheduled to tip off at 9:00pm ET at the EnergySolutions Arena, will be provided by NBA TV. NBA Spreads have the visiting Celtics listed as a -5 against the spread favorite and the Over/Under set at 191.5.
Boston won for the fourth time in its last five games on Saturday night, beating the Clippers 99-92 at the STAPLES Center in
Los Angeles. The Celtics big three, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, were instrumental in the win, Garnett recording a 16 point, 11 rebound double double while Pierce and Allen combined for 46 points, nine rebounds, and five steals.
New addition Jeff Green, who came over in the trade with Oklahoma City, scored seven points and grabbed one rebound in 18 minutes of action.
Boston, which shot just 41.1 percent for the game, made 41 trips to the free throw, where it scored 35 points.
The Heat's surprising loss to the Knicks last night gave the Celtics a half game lead in the Eastern Conference overall standings. At 42-14 Boston owns a 12 game lead over New York in the Atlantic standings.
Utah, which has dropped six of its last seven games, saw its struggles continue over the weekend with a 116-120 loss at Detroit. All five Jazz starters reached double figures in scoring, led by Paul Milsap's 23, but the bench accounted for a mere 21 points. Derrick Favors, the key piece that came over from the Nets in the Deron Williams trade, posted 10 points and two rebounds in a reserve role.
Utah's defense allowed the Pistons to shoot 50 percent from the field and 64.7 percent from beyond the arc in the setback.
The Jazz, now 32-28 on the season, fell to ninth place in the Western Conference standings as a result of the Detroit loss. However, Utah remains just five back of the first place Thunder in the Northwest Division.
Utah and Boston have alternated wins in their last eight meetings, with the last victory going to the Celtics on January 21st (110-86) at the Garden. The Jazz are 3-1 in their last four contests against the Celtics at EnergySolutions Arena.
Celtics vs Jazz NBA Spreads Feb 28, 2011:
Boston Celtics -5 (-110), Over 191.5 (-110), -190 (Moneyline)
Utah Jazz +5 (-110), Under 191.5 (-110), +160 (Moneyline)
