BOSTON — Tyler Zeller was the hero, but there was no wild celebration, just a fist pump for a job well done.
“He’s a very businesslike person,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said after his center scored at the buzzer to give the Celtics an 85-84 victory over the Utah Jazz Wednesday night. The winning hoop came after Boston blew an eight-point lead in the final 2:17.
“He’s is an everyday guy,” Stevens added. “He works really hard, he has a good sense of humor, and he’s a good guy. With some guys, you might be concerned about them hitting a last-second shot and how they’re going to react the next game. I’m not concerned with him.”
After forward Gordon Hayward put the Jazz ahead with a jumper with 1.7 seconds left, the Celtics called a timeout to get the ball in the frontcourt. Rookie guard Marcus Smart couldn’t get the ball in, and he called another timeout. This time, with Utah big man Rudy Gobert guarding the inbounder, Smart lobbed the ball down low to Zeller, who managed to get the shot off between Hayward and swingman Rodney Hood.
“I saw Gordon flying in, so I shot-faked and just got the ball up,” said Zeller, who added it was his first NBA winner. “Thankfully, I was able to get it up to the rim and be able to make it.”
The basket was called good and held up under review.
“I was about 90 percent sure (it would count), but there’s always that little bit of doubt,” Zeller said. “I was a little nervous.”
The Celtics (24-35) rebounded from a 31-point loss at Cleveland on Tuesday, a game that came on the heels of blowing a 26-point lead and losing to the Golden State Warriors at home Sunday.
The win was the eighth in 13 games for the Celtics, who are one win shy of matching last season’s total.
“Coach (Brad) Stevens drew up a great play,” said Smart, named the Eastern Conference’s rookie of the month for February earlier in the day.
The Jazz, who won at Memphis on Tuesday night, won five of their previous six games since the All-Star break. Utah (24-36) rallied late to take the lead when Hayward scored what looked like the winner.
Instead, Zeller, who finished with eight points and 11 rebounds, became the hero.
“It was a great pass. That’s what Coach Stevens does; he’s excellent in those situations coming up with a play. I know it better than anybody,” said Hayward, who played for Stevens at Butler. “It’s a great play, great design, and they knew we were switching.”
Hayward called the loss “very tough.”
Guard Isaiah Thomas and forward Jae Crowder, both again coming off the bench, led the way for Boston. Thomas had the Celtics’ last seven points before Zeller’s winner and finished with 21 points and seven assists. Crowder scored 18 points. Guard Avery Bradley scored Boston’s first 10 points of the second half, and he finished with 13.
The Celtics, two games out of a playoff spot in 11th place in the East, were guilty of just three turnovers. That set a club record (the stat has only been kept since the 1970-71 season) also was the NBA season low. The NBA record since the stat was kept is two.
“That was great,” Thomas said. “We were decisive, we played with energy and we made the right plays for the most part.”
Forward Derrick Favors and guard Trey Burke scored 16 apiece for the Jazz, who got 13 points from Hayward, their leading scorer, and 10 points and 16 rebounds from Gobert. Utah hit just three of 19 attempts from 3-point range.
Despite shooting 32.1 percent from the floor, 2-for-12 from 3-point range (and 2-for-6 from the foul line), in the first half, the Celtics took a 34-33 halftime lead. Smart stole the ball and converted a three-point play with eight-tenths of a second left in the half to give Boston a 34-33 lead.
The Celtics wound up shooting 37.5 percent from the floor to the Jazz’s 45.3 percent. Boston hit eight of 27 3-point attempts (29.6 percent).
NOTES: Celtics F Kelly Olynyk returned after missing 18 games with an ankle sprain. He played just 7:14 and finished scoreless. … The Jazz came in having gone from the worst defensive team in the league early in the season to fourth, first since the All-Star break (82.7 points allowed per game). “That’s an amazing stat to improve that much in a year,” Utah rookie swingman Rodney Hood said. … Since Feb. 20, the Celtics were leading the NBA in most assists (24.9) and fewest turnovers (12.7) per game prior to Wednesday. … Utah continues its road trip at Philadelphia on Friday. The Celtics play at New Orleans the same night, the start of a three-game road trip.