SALT LAKE CITY -- Nov. 11, 2009.
That's a date that lives in Deron Williams' mind.
Carlos Boozer's, too.
On that night, Williams, Boozer and their Utah Jazz teammates met the Boston Celtics on their home floor and learned a valuable lesson.
"It was a turning point in the season," Williams said of Utah's 19-point beating that night. "We saw how they played. We kind of wanted to emulate that."
At the time, the loss put the Jazz at 3-5 on the season. Boston, meanwhile, moved to 8-1.
"They took it to us up there in Boston," said Boozer. "It seems like two years ago when we played them last, but honestly, they beat the breaks off us."
Getting roughed up by the veteran Celtics was one thing, but what really got Williams' attention was the way Boston played.
"(It was) team play, having fun, not caring who gets the glory," he said.
Williams has since explained that he and his teammates were surprised to see the way the Celtics' stars were on the bench late in the game, laughing with one another, apparently without a care for their own individual statistics.
After the game, several Jazz players went out for a late dinner and discussed the Celtics' approach to the game.
"For us, after that game we kind of took off," Boozer said. "We came together as a group of guys and it was fun."
Since that night, the Jazz have gone 42-20. Heading into today's game with the Celtics at EnergySolutions Arena, they have won 22 of their last 30 games.
On Saturday, Utah crushed the visiting New Orleans Hornets and did so in much the same way the Celtics beat the Jazz more than four months ago.
"We just played well together," Williams said. "We went out there and had fun. We shared the basketball, we helped each other out. We were active on defense, that makes a big difference."
Over their last five home games, the Jazz (45-25) have been nothing short of dominant, winning by an average of 22 points per contest.
They will look to keep the show going today against the Celtics, but it won't be easy.
Boston (45-24) has won five of its last six, including a 102-93 victory Saturday night in Dallas.
"They've been in world championship situations," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They get up and get after you."
The Celtics are holding opponents to 94.1 points per game, which ranks No. 2 in the NBA. Opponents, on average, are shooting 44.6 percent from the field against the Celtics.
The Jazz, meanwhile, are allowing 98 points per game and a field-goal percentage of 45.1.
* JAZZ NOTES: The NBA announced Sunday it will take no action against Sloan for making contact with referee Michael Smith during Friday's loss at Phoenix. The incident occurred with .02 seconds left in the game. After Phoenix's Grant Hill took down Ronnie Price with a hard foul, Sloan bumped Smith's chest with his forearm. Sloan maintained he put his arm up because Smith came at him aggressively. The NBA, apparently, was satisfied with that explanation.
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