Anatomy of a comeback: How a furious stretch set up the Celtics’ game-winner in Utah

COMMENTARY“How did they manage to pull that off again?”That question, maybe with varying degrees of volume and a few added words we can’t print here, has been asked by Celtics fans since about midnight. The Celtics shouldn’t have even been in Wednesday’s game against Utah, nevermind have a chance to win. Half their team was out due to injury, and they were finishing up a Western Conference road trip against a team desperately trying to hold onto a playoff spot. You know the situation. We all did. Utah did too. They’ve seen the shorthanded Celtics do this time and time again. Yet, there they were, unraveling just like all those other teams. “But how?”A run like Boston’s has a lot of elements to it. It often starts benignly enough, but then through some good decision making, execution, clutch play… and some cooperation by the opponent… improbable things happen. How? I’ll show you. Time: 2:16
Score: 94-88 Utah
The benign beginningGreg Monroe drives against Rudy Gobert, candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Earlier in the game, Gobert had frightened the Celtics into terrible shots. This time, though, Monroe set him up for a spin move and finishes nicely. This is the benign type of basket that keeps teams alive. It’s clutch in that it keeps the game close enough for something weird to happen. Time: 2:00
Score: 94-90 Utah
The defensive adjustmentThe Celtics unleash their zone defense. The Jazz are trying to unleash Donovan Mitchell into the teeth of the defense but the lane is clogged and the Celtics just dare Ricky Rubio to shoot. He does, and misses. Brad Stevens’s adjustment neutralizes Utah’s best options and puts the ball in the hands of their worst shooter. Coaching and execution are key here. The Celtics need something radical to change this game at this point. Brad Stevens goes to something that isn’t practiced and the players execute it pretty much exactly how he wants it done. Time: 1:36
Score: 94-90 Utah
The insane hustle playJayson Tatum is wide open from three. Hitting this would be a HUGE momentum shift. He doesn’t, and for an instant, there is relief in Utah as Tatum’s shot clangs high off the rim. But then, out of nowhere, the smallest player on the floor comes in and makes maybe the biggest play of the game. Shane Larkin’s tip keeps the ball alive, Monroe gets fouled, and he drills two free throws. This is the unquantifiable heart behind those canned “we just wanted it more” quotes. Finding a way to make a play like this happen is a pillar of a comeback. Suddenly, things are getting tense. Time: 1:13
Score: 94-92 Utah
The momentum shiftThe Celtics’ zone defense once again does its job. The Celtics do a great job of neutralizing a pick-and-roll, a Jae Crowder drive, and a Joe Ingles corner three. The flummoxed Jazz go back to what’s worked in the past: another Gobert/Mitchell pick-and-roll. The problem for them is the zone swallows Mitchell and it leads to not only a turnover, but a turnover that causes a breakaway. Three-on-one. Ingles in the middle. No chance to stop it because it’s run perfectly. Tie ballgame. Time: 1:01
Score: 94-94
Just plain luckWith all of this happening, the Jazz still have time, the ball, and the home crowd on their side. Mitchell finally gets into the game with some momentum. This is a big deal because the Celtics had prevented that the past few trips down and drives like this really open up second chance opportunities.Defenders down low almost always overreact to a player entering that area, especially if they’re in a zone because this area is sort of everyone’s responsibility. That often means guys can swoop in for offensive boards, which Gobert does without being touched at all. Except… he flat out misses the rebound. That should have been his. It could have been a dunk. At the very least, it should have been a reset of the offense. Instead, Rozier has the ball. Time: 00:40
Score: 94-94
The bad coaching decision by the opponentThe Celtics miss, and Utah puts the ball into Rubio’s hands with :40 left. There is plenty of time here to push the ball up the floor and see if they can get a bucket within 10-12 seconds, trust in one of the best defenses in the league to force a miss, and then get time for a final shot if the Celtics pull off a miracle. Instead, Utah dribbles it down to :30 before initiating the play. The 2-for-1 is out the window and they’re now in a position where they have to score just in case Boston comes up with a miracle. Crowder gets the first pass of the play with :08 on the shot clock. Tatum closes out and by the time Crowder gets it back, he is forced to shoot. It’s a disaster of a possession for Utah who could have probed a Celtics defense in transition and, if nothing presented itself, adjusted with this same halfcourt set. They didn’t even try. They put pressure on themselves to score here and left themselves susceptible to the miracle because now Boston has time to set a play. Terrible decision by Utah and great defense by Boston. Time: 00:13
Score: 94-94
The miracleWith time to set something up, the Celtics use the Jazz’ strength, rim protection, against them. Larkin’s drive, like Mitchell’s 45 seconds prior, draws an overreaction. There might have been some luck here with the ball flying past Jaylen Brown’s face without getting deflected on its way to Ojeleye, but the ball gets to its destination. That causes an overreaction to the overreaction, and it gives Ojeleye an open lane to pass the ball to Terry Rozier or Brown.Jaylen gets it. Ball game. Coming back in this situation is a multi-layered process. The Celtics needed the coaches to come up with the plan, the players to execute that plan, and the Jazz to cooperate by screwing a couple of things up. They got all of it on their way to another improbable win in an increasingly fun season.