Boston ? At age 36, Gary Payton no longer puts together long stretches of outstanding games. On Friday night, though, he played as if he were in his prime.
Payton scored a season-high 27 points, matched his season-high of 11 assists and led a Boston Celtics running game that beat the Utah Jazz 114-106.
“He was awesome,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “Tonight was Gary’s night.”
After a disappointing season with the Los Angeles Lakers in which he took a backseat to superstars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Payton was acquired by the Celtics and is thriving as the leader of their improved uptempo attack.
“I was pushing the ball and everybody was getting out” on the fastbreak, Payton said. “We distributed the ball very well and I think we kept everybody in the flow. So when everybody touches the ball then we’re a good basketball team.”
Utah’s only lead was 2-0 and Boston led by at least eight points for the final 40 minutes.
The Celtics hit 56 percent of their shots to take a 58-40 lead at halftime and stretched that to as much as 21, leading 84-63 on two free throws by Marcus Banks with 1:36 left in the third quarter. The closest Utah came after that was eight points, the first time on Carlos Boozer’s layup with 3:56 to play that made it 97-89.
“The Celtics were just much more interested in doing the right things,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “We had moments tonight where we looked so disinterested. Guys were driving to the basket and we would just let them go.”
Boston outscored Utah 56-38 in the paint and won for the third time in four games with the only loss coming by one point, 100-99, to Denver on Wednesday night when Paul Pierce missed a shot at the buzzer. Utah played its third game in four nights and is 2-9 in its last 11.
For the Celtics, Mark Blount with 18 points and Raef LaFrentz with 10 points and 10 rebounds were among seven players in double figures.
“Offensively, we were as good as you can get,” Rivers said. “That’s the type of ball movement and basketball we’ve got to play every night.”
Utah was led by Boozer with 25 points and 12 rebounds, Mehmet Okur with 21 points and Carlos Arroyo with 20.
“It’s hard to come back when you’re down 20 points, especially in their home,” Arroyo said.
Okur’s 23-foot jumper opened the scoring and gave the Jazz their only lead. Blount tied the game with a hook shot and Jiri Welsch’s 3-pointer put Boston ahead to stay.
“We couldn’t guard anyone,” Okur said.
The Celtics led 19-10 before going on an 8-2 run that built its biggest lead of the first quarter, 29-12. Utah scored the last five points of the period, but Boston started the second with a 9-2 surge and took its biggest lead of the half, 38-19 on two free throws by Tony Allen.
“Everybody runs against us,” Sloan said. “We have been inefficient after made baskets and our free throws.”
Boston was coasting along before Utah started chipping away at a 21-point deficit.
Baskets by Raja Bell and Arroyo began a mild spurt in which Utah outscored Boston 26-13. Arroyo had nine points in the comeback that cut the margin to 97-89. It was 104-96 with 1:49 remaining before the Celtics began to close out Utah.
Payton hit a three-point play and Ricky Davis added two free throws for a 109-96 lead. The Jazz outscored the Celtics 8-3 the rest of the way with Boozer scoring four of their points, but never threatened the lead in the final minutes.
Notes: Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar sat courtside. … Howard Eisley’s 10 assists for Utah were his most of the year. … Utah had 17 offensive rebounds to eight for Boston, but the Celtics led 12-11 in second-chance points.
Seattle ? Gary Payton is way too much for second-year pro Luke Ridnour to handle. That’s why the Boston Celtics have notched two of Seattle’s four losses this season.
Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Payton had 21 against his former team as the Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak, beating the streaking SuperSonics 98-84 on Saturday night.
It was all about matchups, with Boston coach Doc Rivers using his small lineup to make it a 94-foot game. The Celtics became the first team to sweep the Sonics and the first visitors to win in 10 games in Seattle this season.
“We went small with their men,” Payton said. “Usually, teams are big with them and they give open looks. We went small. We put hands in their faces. We made them take tough shots and they missed them.”
They sure did.
Payton set the tempo against the club he led for 13 seasons, outdueling Ridnour with post-ups that favored the veteran. It’s a tough assignment for Ridnour, but to be fair it’s not easy for many players against Payton.
“He’s a great player,” said Ridnour, who shot 1-for-11. “They ran a lot of post-ups for him. I let him spin on me a couple of times when I knew I shouldn’t, and their team just played well. “
The result was mayhem for Seattle’s perimeter offense. The Celtics held the Sonics to a season-low 32.6 percent from the floor and kept them scoreless over the final 3 minutes.
Rashard Lewis scored 19 points to lead Seattle and Ray Allen had 16. The Celtics held Allen – traded from Milwaukee for Payton in February 2003 – to a 5-for-23 shooting night and only four points in the second half.
“Boston earned this win,” Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. “They were aggressive and attacked our paint. We talked about keys – rebounding, scoring, assists. The things we needed to do, we didn’t do.”
Danny Fortson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Seattle, and his muscular inside game represented the only offense the Sonics could generate down the stretch. It was all but over when he fouled out with 1:58 to play.
“They played us good,” Fortson said. “They beat us in Boston and once you’ve got a win over a team, that makes you more confident for next time. They haven’t made those types of shots all year long. All of a sudden, they’re making everything.”
The Sonics had won eight of nine after losing in Boston on Nov. 21.
It was tied at 65 late in the third when the Celtics took off. Jiri Welsch and Mark Blount hit jumpers to spark Boston’s 10-4 burst to close the period, and Tony Allen had the play of the night when he soared for a spectacular rebound dunk.
“I don’t know of a lot of humans who can do that,” Rivers said.
The Sonics rallied, going on a 10-2 run to cut it to 83-80 midway through the fourth quarter, but they then went dry from the perimeter.
Fortson’s putbacks and tough inside play helped Seattle get back in it. He scored two straight baskets for Seattle after misses by Allen, cutting it to 87-84 with 3:09 to go, but the Sonics couldn’t score again.
“That was a great win for us,” Rivers said. “I don’t know that we’ve played any better all year.”
Notes: Payton received a lengthy ovation when the starters were introduced. “That’s the fans,” he said. “I think they’re still great. I hope they still think I’m great.” He is Seattle’s career leader in scoring (18,207), assists (7,384), steals (2,107), games (999), minutes (36,858) and personal fouls (2,577). … Mariners RF Ichiro Suzuki sat next to Sonics chairman Howard Schultz. … The Sonics activated G Ronald “Flip” Murray and C Vitaly Potapenko from the injured list.
