Kristaps Porzingis remains at home. He finally revealed he’s been dealing with a mysterious illness, but hopes to return soon.
The remainder of the season, save a few important games such as Wednesday against Oklahoma City, will be littered with players resting and preparing for the mid-April postseason. The Celtics already have finished the rigorous part of their schedule, and had a six-game lead on the Knicks for second in the East before their late-evening game against the Kings.
So there are going to be complementary players who will get their opportunities to make impacts in these final 18 games. Monday’s was Sam Hauser, whose seven 3-pointers in the third quarter helped the Celtics build an 85-61 lead with 2 minutes left in the period.
The lead was 23 with 11:44 left before the shorthanded Jazz countered with a 34-11 run to even the game at 103. Mazzulla had to reinsert Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday for those final three minutes, and they delivered with the next 6 points before Hauser’s 3-pointer with 1:20 left sealed it.
Hauser finished with 33.
The Celtics could have made their jobs easier by keeping their focus and preventing the Jazz from getting all those open 3-point looks — they were 8 for 9 in the fourth quarter. But there are lessons to be taken away from every experience, and for the second consecutive game, the Celtics blew a considerable late lead.
“I think it’s good because it gives us an opportunity to get better,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “You take a look at the end of the third quarter, start of the fourth quarter. We would have ended the first quarter better. We could have ended the second quarter better. Could have started the fourth better. There’s always 10 to 15 possessions you have to get better at, whether you win or lose, and we just have to be able to learn from them.”
There’s education that will come from this game, however meaningless it may be in the long run. What Mazzulla doesn’t want is his team looking ahead, envisioning playoff matchups when it’s still not a finished regular-season product. There are situations — such as late in games — the Celtics can improve.
Yet, he has the ultimate trust his team isn’t skipping steps or contracting the professional basketball team’s version of senioritis.
“Not for our guys,” Mazzulla said. “They do a great job of understanding what we need to get accomplished and continue to do that. I don’t think so. It’s a different type of character in that locker room and I think they’re focused on winning regardless of when it is.”
It was only natural for the Celtics to lack the enthusiasm from Saturday’s impressive win over the Lakers. Utah is basically in its third year of tanking, with former Celtics great Danny Ainge running their rebuilding plans and hoping for the chance to get Cooper Flagg this summer.
Tatum mentioned matter-of-factly Saturday that he wouldn’t play in all 18 remaining games; Monday was the perfect night to give him a break. He’ll certainly return for Wednesday’s showdown with the Thunder. Brown was left to shoulder most of the scoring load until Hauser went into his Steph Curry impression in the third quarter.
There wasn’t any disappointment about blowing the 24-point lead and, honestly, there really shouldn’t be. The goal is to get through these games healthy and allow players such as Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and even Torrey Craig to play heavy minutes and be stars against lesser competition.
Sometimes that lesser competition is going to rise to the moment and push back. The Celtics slipped in the early fourth quarter and a reserve named Brice Sensabaugh scored 17 points in seven minutes of the final period to bring Utah back. The lesson here is teams aren’t going to lay down — although when the Jazz are headed for a top five pick, they probably should have.
“This is moving into the best time of year,” Brown said, sounding like Andy Williams. “This is when the festivities are getting ready to begin. If anything, the excitement is starting to build and you see guys are playing well. We’re sharpening our tools and we’ve got a ‘next guy up’ kind of mentality. A couple of games ago it was D White and Payton, both went for 40. Tonight Sam Hauser hits nine threes. We’re getting ready for the most exciting time of the year.”
It’s good Brown and his teammates see it that way. They are anticipating the playoffs, but there are still improvements to be made and lessons to be learned. Even on nights like Monday.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
