The Jazz were hammered 105-86 by the Celtics on Nov. 11 but turned the tables on the back of 22 points and 11 assists from Deron Williams and 23 points from C.J. Miles.
"Boston gave us a lesson in defense over there (in November)," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told reporters. "I thought everybody was focused to try and play the game together tonight." The Jazz (46-25) trailed by five at halftime but started the third quarter with a 16-4 run. Mehmet Okur, who sat out a game due to illness, grabbed 15 rebounds and 11 of his 14 points in the third.
"They started that third quarter pretty electric," Boston forward Kevin Garnett said. "As many times as I've played here they have always been able to come back out. They came out with some energy, made shots and executed." Ray Allen's 15 points led the Celtics (45-25), who could not overcome poor shooting from their key players. Paul Pierce had 11 points.
The Celtics seemed to unravel in the second half and coach Doc Rivers was ejected after receiving two technical fouls in the final minutes.
Utah closed the gap on Northwest division leaders Denver to 1 1/2 games with the win.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Dwyane Wade had 27 points and 12 assists, and the Miami Heat continued their good play in March with a 99-89 victory over the free-falling New Jersey Nets.
Jermaine O'Neal added 25 points as the Heat improved to 8-3 in the month that has seen them climb to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Michael Beasley added 16 and Carlos Arroyo 12.
Brook Lopez had 26 points, but the Nets (7-63) lost their eighth straight as they possibly head toward the worst record in NBA history. New Jersey has to win two of its final 12 to avoid breaking the Philadelphia 76ers' mark for futility (9-73), set in 1972-73.
The Nets played without interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe, whose mother is gravely ill in California. Assistant John Loyer replaced him.
In New Orleans, All Star point guard Chris Paul returned from a 25-game absence following knee surgery to spark the New Orleans Hornets to a 115-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
Paul, who had not played since the end of January, scored 11 points and made three assists in 21 minutes, but his presence sparked the Hornets to snap a three-game losing streak.
"We were real pleased he was able to get back on the floor, the poise he showed really carried over to the rest of the team," Hornets coach Jeff Bower told reporters. " Marcus Thornton led New Orleans with 28 points, while rookie point guard Darren Collison, who had stepped in while Paul was recovering, had 16 points and eight assists.
In Philadelphia, Rashard Lewis scored 24 points, Dwight Howard added 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Orlando notched its third straight 50-win season.
Vince Carter contributed 17 points and Matt Barnes had 14 for the Southeast Division-leading Magic (50-21), who won 50 games in three straight seasons for the first time since 1993-96. The Magic have won three straight and 10 of 11. Mickael Pietrus and Jason Williams had 10 apiece.
Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand led the Sixers with 23 points apiece, while Samuel Dalembert had 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Sixers have dropped three in a row and fell to 11-24 at home.
In Oklahoma City, George Hill scored a career-high 27 points, and San Antonio overcame Kevin Durant's45 to beat Oklahoma City and forge a tie between the teams for sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
Serge Ibaka swatted away Tim Duncan's layup try to give the Thunder a chance with 8.8 seconds left, but Thabo Sefoloshamissed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 5 seconds remaining after he was left open because of a double-team against Durant.
Manu Ginobili then hit one of two free throws with 2.3 seconds left, and Russell Westbrook couldn't connect on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to tie it for the Thunder.
In Chicago, Derrick Rose had 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead Chicago over Houston.
Flip Murray added 18 points and Kirk Hinrich scored 17 for the Bulls, who won back-to-back games after losing a season-high 10 in a row.
The Rockets lost for just the second time in seven games. Luis Scolaled Houston with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Martin added 19 points.
In Milwaukee, John Salmons scored 32 points, including the tiebreaking free throws with 21.8 seconds remaining, to lead Milwaukee to a come-from-behind victory over Atlanta.
In a matchup of possible first-round playoff opponents, Salmons and Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson went back and forth down the stretch until the Milwaukee guard, who scored 16 in the fourth quarter, pulled it out.
Carlos Delfino added 23 points for the Bucks.
Johnson scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. Jamal Crawford had 21.
In Minneapolis, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help sluggish Toronto hand Minnesota its 13th straight loss.
Andrea Bargnani had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who beat the Timberwolves for the 12th consecutive time to move into a tie with Charlotte for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Al Jefferson had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost 19 of their last 20 games.
In Sacramento, California, Zach Randolph had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Memphis used the streaky shooting of O.J. Mayo in the fourth quarter to beat Sacramento.
Mayo had 20 points and Rudy Gay17. Mike Conley scored 12 points and Hasheem Thabeet added 10 for the Grizzlies, who outscored the Kings 51-33 in the second half.
Carl Landry scored 23 for the Kings, who played without Tyreke Evans and have lost three of four. Beno Udrih had 18 points and 10 assists, and Spencer Hawes added 13 points.
In Oakland, California, Amare Stoudemire scored 37 points, Jason Richardson had a season-high 34, and Phoenix held off Golden State for its fifth straight victory.
Reggie Williams, an NBA Development League product who was signed for the remainder of the season on Monday, scored a career-high 29 points for Golden State. Monta Ellis led the Warriors with 30, and Anthony Tolliver added 25 points and 12 rebounds. The Suns remained in fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race, one game behind Utah.
