#10 – Revenge (sort of) in Boston – December 15
The Utah Jazz defeated Boston 107-95 despite losing Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors to injury.
Going into the 2017-18 season, this was a game that Utah Jazz fans had circled on their calendars – the first showdown between the Jazz and the sinister team that had stolen away their All-Star, Gordon Hayward, the summer before. Of course, ultimately Hayward would miss all but the first minutes of the year as he suffered a gruesome leg injury in the Boston Celtics season opener.
That right away made this game less of a revenge bout than it would have otherwise been. Still, the Jazz were in the midst of an atrocious month of December facing a red-hot Boston Celtics team with a healthy Kyrie Irving and a blooming young core, which made it an intriguing game nonetheless.
Considering how both teams had been faring prior to the matchup, it seemed that the Jazz would be doomed to drop their fifth straight contest. That appeared even more likely when Derrick Favors fell on Rudy Gobert’s leg, causing him to leave the game in the first quarter. One quarter later, Favors himself was struck with injury as he caught an elbow from Jaylen Brown. Faves had to have six stitches and would not return.
With both starting big men down, victory seemed like a long-shot. Fortunately, though, the Jazz proved otherwise.
Utah put on the clamps in the second quarter, outscoring Boston 25-13. They survived Kyrie Irving’s 33 points and held every other Celtic besides Al Horford to less than 10 points. Utah used a balanced scoring effort that saw Ricky Rubio lead the way with 22 points, Donovan Mitchell chip in 17 and reserves Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Hood chip in 17 apiece as well. The Jazz would ultimately arise victorious by a score of 107-95.
It may not have been a revenge game in terms of defeating Hayward himself, but you could argue that it was a revenge game for former Celtic Jonas Jerebko, who had a stellar game.
Jokes aside though, even without Hayward in action, there was something vindicating about slapping the Celtics on their home court just a few months after Boston gut punched the entire state of Utah by landing Hayward. Consider the odds that were stacked against Utah – riding a four-game losing streak and losing their front court starters in the first half – and this was a thrilling and improbable victory that certainly belongs in the top 10 of 2017-18.