Infobeat's report on Cs win over Jazz

[kevin <kevin.lok@lycosmail.com>]

I feel good. Anybody watched the game? was Fort's 12 minutes "good"?


BOSTON 101, UTAH 99

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Before Kenny Anderson could make the
difference in the closing minutes, he had to persuade Boston
coach Rick Pitino to let him play in the third quarter. Anderson
scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics
beat the Utah Jazz 101-99 on Tuesday night, Boston's first
victory over Utah since Larry Bird's playing days.

"I just felt good out there," Anderson said. "I was feeling it,
man. My shots were just going in. I was in a zone."

Paul Pierce scored 20 and made two free throws with 1:03
remaining to give the Celtics a 99-96 lead. Anderson hit four
free throws in the final 16.4 seconds as Boston snapped a 14-game
losing streak to the Jazz.

"Kenny Anderson played great," said Antoine Walker, who scored 19
points for the Celtics. "He did a great job of getting to the
basket and making the shots for us, and we all played great in
the fourth quarter."

With the Celtics trying to rally from a 42-33 halftime deficit,
Pitino was ready to insert backup point guard Dana Baros in the
third. Anderson convinced Pitino to leave him in.

"He said, 'Go with me,'" Pitino said. "And I said, 'OK, I'm going
with you.'"

The Celtics last beat Utah in 1991-92, Bird's final season. The
victory also was Boston's first in Salt Lake City since January
1988, ending a 10-game losing streak in Salt Lake to the Jazz.

Karl Malone, well-rested after playing only three minutes in
Sunday's All-Star game, led Utah with 32 points. Howard Eisley
added 19, Jeff Hornacek had 13 and John Stockton scored 12.

Utah had occasional defensive lapses and often couldn't seem to
get needed baskets or breaks. But as far as coach Jerry Sloan was
concerned, the bottom line was Boston's 68 points in the second
half.

"If you would have seen us practice yesterday, you would have
asked how we scored this many points," Sloan said. "They came in
here ready to beat us, and it was interesting to watch them play.
We couldn't stop them."

The Jazz forced a final chance when Bryon Russell, who hit a
3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left, intercepted Boston's inbounds
pass and called timeout with two seconds remaining. Russell
inbounded to Stockton, whose running scoop shot from 10 feet
bounced off the close side of the rim as the horn sounded.

It was a dramatic fourth quarter, with nine lead changes and four
ties.


Boston Celtics 101, UTAH JAZZ 99

BOSTON (101)
                    FG     FT   Reb
              Min  M-A    M-A   O-T   A  F Pts
              ---  ---    ---   ---   -  - ---
Griffin        41  3-7    1-1   3-8   1  3   7
Walker         42  6-19   7-9   2-9   3  5  19
Potapenko      21  2-5    0-0   1-7   0  4   4
Anderson       25 12-15   7-9   0-1   6  5  33
Pierce         33  7-12   5-6   0-4   3  3  20
Williams       18  0-3    3-6   0-1   1  0   3
Battie         18  1-4    0-0   1-1   1  5   2
Barros         23  2-6    3-3   0-1   2  1   7
Fortson        12  2-3    0-0   2-5   0  3   4
McCarty         7  1-3    0-0   2-2   0  0   2

Totals        240 36-77  26-34 11-39 17 29 101

Percentages: FG .468, FT .765. 3-Point Goals: 3-12, .250
(Anderson 2-2, Pierce 1-4, McCarty 0-1, Williams 0-1, Walker 0-2,
Barros 0-2). Team Rebounds: 11. Blocked Shots: 5 (Walker 2,
Williams 2, Pierce). Turnovers: 17 (Walker 7, Pierce 3, Battie 2,
Anderson, Potapenko, Griffin, Fortson, Williams). Steals: 7
(Walker 2, Griffin 2, Barros, Pierce, Potapenko). Technical
Fouls: Potapenko, 11:47 first; Illegal Defense, 9:48 third.
Illegal Defense: 1.


UTAH (99)
                    FG     FT   Reb
              Min  M-A    M-A   O-T   A  F Pts
              ---  ---    ---   ---   -  - ---
Russell        36  3-7    4-5   2-7   2  5  11
Malone         39  8-19  16-17  3-9   4  2  32
Polynice       16  0-1    0-2   3-7   0  2   0
Stockton       28  3-12   6-6   3-4   9  4  12
Hornacek       24  5-12   1-1   0-0   0  3  13
Eisley         35  7-15   2-2   1-3   6  4  19
Gilliam        20  4-7    0-0   1-7   0  2   8
Keefe          11  0-1    0-0   0-1   0  1   0
Lewis           9  0-2    0-0   0-0   1  5   0
Ostertag       21  2-4    0-0   2-6   0  0   4
Vaughn          1  0-0    0-0   0-0   0  0   0

Totals        240 32-80  29-33 15-44 22 28  99

Percentages: FG .400, FT .879. 3-Point Goals: 6-10, .600 (Eisley
3-5, Hornacek 2-3, Russell 1-1, Stockton 0-1). Team Rebounds: 7.
Blocked Shots: 10 (Ostertag 4, Malone 3, Russell, Keefe,
Polynice). Turnovers: 17 (Russell 3, Stockton 3, Ostertag 2,
Eisley 2, Hornacek 2, Malone 2, Keefe, Polynice, Gilliam).
Steals: 6 (Russell 4, Stockton, Malone). Technical Fouls:
Polynice, 11:47 first; Coach Sloan, 2:21 first. Illegal Defense:
None.

-----------------------
Boston  22 11 33 35-101
Utah    14 28 30 27- 99
-----------------------

A-18,555 (19,911). T-2:27. Officials-Dick Bavetta, Don Vaden,
Bruce Alexander.