Break helped them put it back together

Last night’s 105-86 victory didn’t come against a cream puff. The Utah Jazz, when healthy and clicking, are a Western Conference contender. But they were reduced to a patsy, unable to solve Boston’s help defense, and an ailing Deron Williams appeared a step slow, while Carlos Boozer was dwarfed by Kevin Garnett.

Garnett ensured that the end of the Celtics’ bench would turn into “Club Parquet’’ in the fourth quarter. He scored 8 of his 18 points in the third, capped by a swirling dunk between mammoth Utah center Kyrylo Fesenko and power forward Paul Millsap for a 77-56 lead with 3:01 left. Shortly thereafter, a limping Garnett returned to the bench and put on his long-sleeve warm-up, a sign his night was over.

It had been more than a week since the Celtics could chill on the bench and Garnett could enjoy himself.

“For 48 minutes, we were very well-connected tonight,’’ Garnett said. “It was a good group effort tonight. You could tell the three days paid off in a big way.’’

Last night’s win gave the Celtics a boost of confidence, which had been sagging a bit after a loss to Phoenix and the unimpressive win at New Jersey. But there was nothing like rest and rejuvenation for this bunch of 30-somethings.

“Most of what we did in the last two days was practicing because of that [Phoenix] loss,’’ said Ray Allen, who scored 15 points last night on 6-of-8 shooting. “Just getting up and down and getting some bad wind out of you, working on your shot, getting some lifting in was great for us.’’

The Celtics methodically pulled away from the Jazz with stifling defense and crisp passing that had been missing the past week. Rondo countered Williams’s scoring prowess with assists (11 in 31 minutes). And the rest of the starters flourished by reemphasizing their strengths.