The Boston Celtics came up short against the Utah Jazz, 118-117, on Saturday night at Vivint Arena.

The Celtics fell to 49-23 while the Jazz improved to 34-36 on their season.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
An ongoing trend throughout Boston’s two-week road trip has been stooping down to competition, which continued once more against a Jazz team that stood at the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference entering the night.

The Celtics’ box score would suggest they went head-to-head with one of the league’s best, fighting tooth and nail in the game’s crucial minutes. But then again, the Jazz looked the part with the way they guarded the rim. Boston knocked down 22 outside shot attempts, yet that served as a gap bridge to Utah’s 17 offensive rebounds — the most allowed by the Celtics in a game this season.

Meanwhile, with the Celtics in dire need of some darkhorse contribution, Grant Williams answered. Rummaging from minutes in recent weeks, Williams came through and drained a game-leading seven 3-pointers, stepping up as the Jazz wisely double-teamed go-to man Jayson Tatum. But that wasn’t enough to secure a win, despite possession of a late 19-point lead.

The C’s were setback from the jump, missing three key starters — Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Robert Williams — before taking the floor. This posed an obvious task that head coach Joe Mazzulla attempted to overcome, filling the size void with alternative rotations featuring Mike Muscala and Luke Kornet on the front court. And that game plan, like children’s glue, wasn’t sustainable.