SALT LAKE CITY – The Boston Celtics weren’t too tired after playing five games in seven days back and forth across time zones.
They had enough left to play overtime to close out a long Western road trip, beating the Utah Jazz 110-107 on Monday night.
Thirty-five-year-old Paul Pierce led Boston with 26 points, including seven straight in the extra session.
“It was huge,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Whatever that was, it was the best win of the year for me. To go into overtime and still have enough to win.”
It wasn’t just the ageless Pierce. Kevin Garnett, three months shy of his 37th birthday, stood strong at the end, refusing to let Rivers sub him out by insisting, “I am good.”
Rivers didn’t believe that, “but I kept him in and he was terrific.”
Garnett had four points in overtime on 2-of-2 shooting, with three rebounds. He finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, a blocked shot and steal.
Boston also got a big game from Avery Bradley, who scored a season-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Pierce had a chance to win it in regulation, but his 6-meter shot at the buzzer rimmed out.
Alec Burks’ reverse layup pulled Utah to 108-105 with 37 seconds left in overtime. Garnett’s banked 3-pointer with 13 seconds left came after the shot clock expired, giving the Jazz another chance.
Paul Millsap was fouled before he could get off a 3, but made two free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining.
Courtney Lee added two free throws at the other end with 1.2 seconds left to bump Boston’s lead back to three, and Randy Foye’s 12-meter jumper at the buzzer missed everything.
It was another one Utah let get away, though Monday’s game had huge swings both ways from start to finish.
Overall, the game had 13 lead changes and was tied 17 times.
“We were in position,” said Jazz forward Marvin Williams. “We fought back in the fourth quarter to force overtime but Boston just made big plays down the stretch.”
Gordon Hayward led Utah with 26 points, Millsap had 16 and Al Jefferson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Jazz (31-26) led 101-99 in overtime on DeMarre Carroll’s 7-meter jumper, but Pierce countered with a 3-pointer, then followed with a pull-up jumper over Carroll and a basket to give the Celtics a 106-101 edge with 1:12 left.
Jefferson hit a shot with 1:05 left to get Utah within 106-103, but Garnett’s jumper helped seal it.
“We knew this was probably going to be the toughest game for us physically and mentally,” Pierce said. “Talking about a long road trip, coming in to one of the toughest places to play. We felt we could salvage this trip with a win here. So guys did a good job of just being mentally tough, digging in and doing what we had to do to get the win.”
The Celtics (30-27), who went 2-3 on the trip, also were smart down the stretch, fouling with fouls to give and finding a wide-open Lee on the inbounds pass when the Jazz needed a late steal in overtime. His free throws provided the final margin.
The Jazz trailed by eight entering the fourth but opened on a 13-2 run.
Jefferson’s 5-meter turnaround jumper over Brandon Bass tied it 93-93 with 2:46 left in regulation.
Nuggets 119, Lakers 108
In Denver, Wilson Chandler scored 23 points in place of an injured Danilo Gallinari, and Ty Lawson added 22 in a victory over Los Angeles.
Gallinari, the Nuggets’ leading scorer, sat out with a bruised left thigh. He wasn’t needed as the Nuggets won their ninth straight game at home, snapped the Lakers’ four-game winning streak and took the season series from their long-time nemesis 3-1.
Los Angeles, which was shut out on the offensive glass in the first half, wanted to slow down the Nuggets but Denver outscored the Lakers 33-3 in fast-break points.
Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 29 points, and Dwight Howard added 15 points and 14 boards but missed 11 of his last 12 free throws.
Hawks 114, Pistons 103
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Al Horford had 23 points and 22 rebounds, and Atlanta beat Detroit for its fifth win in six games.
Josh Smith added 23 points for the Hawks, who were ahead 61-51 at halftime and led by as many as 26 in the third quarter.
The Pistons have lost three straight, all without guard Brandon Knight, who has a hyperextended right knee. Will Bynum was also out Monday because of a suspension.
Jeff Teague had 20 points for Atlanta, which shot 14 of 33 from 3-point range. Kyle Korver scored 15 points, all from beyond the arc.
Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 22 points, and Jonas Jerebko added 21.
Wizards 90, Raptors 84
In Toronto, Bradley Beal scored 20 points, Nene had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Washington beat the Raptors for its third straight victory.
A.J. Price and Martell Webster each added 12 points for the Wizards, who won for just the fifth time in 27 road games this season. Washington’s road record is the worst in the NBA.
John Wall had 10 points and seven assists, and Emeka Okafor had eight points and 13 rebounds as the Wizards won for the 14th time in 23 games.
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Kyle Lowry had 18 for the Raptors, who had won six of their previous seven.
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