- - Derrick White has 27 points and 7 blocks to lead Celtics past Jazz 129-119

MATTHEW COLESDecember 30, 2025 at 11:00 PM

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1 / 5Celtics Jazz BasketballBoston Celtics guard Derrick White, center right, looks to shoot guarded by Utah Jazz guard Walter Clayton Jr., center left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Derrick White scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and added a career-high seven blocks in a one-of-a-kind performance Tuesday night that carried the Boston Celtics to a 129-119 win over the Utah Jazz.

White became the 13th player in NBA history to have 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and seven blocks in a game. But he was the first guard — or member of the Celtics — to post that statistical combination.

Jaylen Brown had 23 points and 10 assists for Boston, ending his streak of 30-point games at nine. He remained tied with Celtics great Larry Bird, who had nine straight 30-point games in February and March of 1985.

Anfernee Simons scored 20 points and Payton Pritchard added 18 for the Celtics, who have won five of six.

Keyonte George, listed as questionable with an illness until a couple of hours before tipoff, scored 37 points for the Jazz. Jusuf Nurkic had a season-high 26 and Lauri Markkanen added 22.

Utah rested rotation regulars Svi Mykhailiuk and Kevin Love, and rookie Ace Bailey was out with a hip injury.

Nurkic's free throw drew Utah within four, but Brown, Pritchard and Simons made three straight shots to balloon the Boston lead to 123-112 with 3:56 to play. The Jazz never got within seven after that.

Utah committed 13 turnovers that led to 23 points for Boston while only scoring five points off the Celtics' eight turnovers.

Some extraordinary shotmaking was on display but both teams allowed a bevy of straight-line drives to the basket and wide-open 3-pointers. White's blocks (tied for the most by an NBA guard) and Neemias Queta's three steals were the exceptions on defense.

The Jazz led by 12 in the first quarter after beating Detroit 131-129 at home and then surprising San Antonio on the road 127-114 last week.

Up next

Celtics: Play at Sacramento on Thursday, the fourth stop on their five-game trip.

Jazz: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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Source: “AOL Sports”