Al Jefferson

When Al Jefferson confronted Kevin Garnett in Salt Lake City last year, he won the numbers game but lost the mind game. Wednesday night, Garnett got the better of Jefferson on both counts as the Celtics took a 94-82 victory over Utah. And, predictably, Garnett and Jefferson were called for double technical fouls. "Just him being him," Jefferson said of Garnett. "That's all I've got to say about that. " Jefferson delivered a strongly worded defense after last year's showdown with Garnett, following a 107-102 Jazz defeat.

Paul Millsap scored 26 points and Al Jefferson went on a personal 8-0 fourth-quarter run as the Utah Jazz defeated the Phoenix Suns 100-88 Tuesday night to secure a Western Conference playoff spot. The victory halted Utah's seven-game losing streak to the Suns, dating to March 2010. Jared Dudley and Michael Redd scored 15 apiece for Phoenix, and Hakim Warrick had 12 for the Suns, who were without forward Channing Frye because of a shoulder injury. The Suns won the season series but can't catch the Jazz with just one game remaining.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- You can almost summarize the current state of the Celtics and the Nets with one surname -- Jefferson. In the case of the Celtics, it was all about promise unfulfilled this season for Al Jefferson, whose individual year was every bit as discouraging and disappointing as that of his team. Amazingly, the Celtics will play an 82-game season without ever winning three in a row, and Al Jefferson will have missed nearly 30 percent of it. Then there's Richard Jefferson, who last night suited up for the 77th time, ever mindful of how injuries can sap a player and a season, but...

By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe columnist T.S. Eliot said April was the cruelest month, but there is a lot to look forward to in the fourth month of the year in the foremost sports city in the country. We have the recharged Bruins ready to defend their Stanley Cup crown in the NHL playoffs, the reconfigured Red Sox, replete with a new general manger, manager and closer, hoping to erase the grease stains of last season's epic collapse, the revitalized Celtics appearing ready to make one last championship run, and everybody's favorite rite of April, the Patriots...

Paul Millsap had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Al Jefferson added 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 106-96 on Sunday night. Gordon Hayward scored 19 points and Devin Harris and Alec Burks added 10 each for the Jazz, winners of seven of their last eight. Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points, Nene had 17 and Arron Afflalo 16 for the Nuggets. The game was close throughout until Millsap got going early in the fourth quarter. He scored 16 points in the period and gave the Jazz control of a close game.

■When, where: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (850, 93.7). ■Scoring: Al Jefferson 19.4, Paul Millsap 16.2, Gordon Hayward 10.4. ■Rebounds: Jefferson 9.3, Millsap 9.0, Derrick Favors 5.9. ■Assists: Devin Harris 4.9, Earl Watson 4.5, Hayward 3.1. ■Head to head: This is the only meeting of the season. The Celtics won both games last season. ■Miscellany: The Jazz have won seven of their last eight, including a 105-84 victory over New Jersey Monday behind Millsap's 24 points and 13 rebounds … On Sunday, Utah played the longest game in team history, a...

The girlfriend of Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson entered a plea in court Wednesday to resolve charges that stemmed from her hitting and biting Jefferson during a dispute at their home. Shirley Lewis entered a plea in abeyance Wednesday to a misdemeanor assault charge, and a misdemeanor domestic violence charge was dismissed. Under the plea, the assault charge will be dismissed in one year if Lewis has no new violations. Lewis was arrested Dec. 8 after a dispute that took place in front of her two children at Jefferson's mansion in Cottonwood Heights.

Paul Millsap scored 20 points, Al Jefferson had 16 and Devin Harris added 15 to lead the Utah Jazz to their fourth straight victory, 97-90 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Millsap had a dunk and a fallaway jumper to help the Jazz finish the game on a 10-4 run. Russell Westbrook had 23 points for Oklahoma City, and Kevin Durant had 18, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter and misfired on all seven attempts from the field in the period. James Harden added 17 points for the Thunder, who have lost four of their last seven games.

Derrick Rose had 24 points and 13 assists, Carlos Boozer scored 27 and the Chicago Bulls pounded the Utah Jazz 111-97 on Saturday night. Kyle Korver scored a season-high 26 points, and the Bulls got back to winning after their season-high eight-game streak ended with a loss to Orlando on Thursday. They turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage going into the fourth quarter and came away with a lopsided victory on a night when both teams were short-handed. The Bulls were missing All-Star Luol Deng, who was out because of pain brought...

NEW ORLEANS - Paul Pierce was only an assistant to then-teammate Gerald Green in the dunk contest at this time last year. That was the extent of Pierce's involvement in All-Star Weekend while a member of one of the league's worst teams. Yesterday, he sat proudly as a member of a Celtics team with the league's best record, the six-time All-Star surrounded by media. In just a year, Pierce has gone from being unhappy and wondering about the direction of the franchise to being asked if he envisions his team playing the Lakers in this year's Finals.

The Celtics can't seem to enjoy success without large and sudden doses of adversity. Eighteen-point leads wither away in a flash and regardless how much the team's veteran legs could use rest late in games, they simply grind their way to more difficult-than-expected victories. A 16-6 fourth-quarter run finally quieted the feisty Jazz and led to another Celtics victory, but they walked away from TD Garden Wednesday hoping that games like these eventually will come easier. The 94-82 victory boosted the Celtics into a first-place tie with the 76ers in the Atlantic Division and increased their mark to 12-5...

When Al Jefferson confronted Kevin Garnett in Salt Lake City last year, he won the numbers game but lost the mind game. Wednesday night, Garnett got the better of Jefferson on both counts as the Celtics took a 94-82 victory over Utah. And, predictably, Garnett and Jefferson were called for double technical fouls. "Just him being him," Jefferson said of Garnett. "That's all I've got to say about that. " Jefferson delivered a strongly worded defense after last year's showdown with Garnett, following a 107-102 Jazz defeat.

■When, where: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (850, 93.7). ■Scoring: Al Jefferson 19.4, Paul Millsap 16.2, Gordon Hayward 10.4. ■Rebounds: Jefferson 9.3, Millsap 9.0, Derrick Favors 5.9. ■Assists: Devin Harris 4.9, Earl Watson 4.5, Hayward 3.1. ■Head to head: This is the only meeting of the season. The Celtics won both games last season. ■Miscellany: The Jazz have won seven of their last eight, including a 105-84 victory over New Jersey Monday behind Millsap's 24 points and 13 rebounds … On Sunday, Utah played the longest game...

Paul Millsap scored 20 points, Al Jefferson had 16 and Devin Harris added 15 to lead the Utah Jazz to their fourth straight victory, 97-90 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Millsap had a dunk and a fallaway jumper to help the Jazz finish the game on a 10-4 run. Russell Westbrook had 23 points for Oklahoma City, and Kevin Durant had 18, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter and misfired on all seven attempts from the field in the period. James Harden added 17 points for the Thunder, who have lost four of their last seven games.

Al Jefferson scored 33 points just 24 hours after his grandmother's death and the Utah Jazz defeated the Detroit Pistons 105-90 Monday night. C.J. Miles added 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, to help the Jazz end a two-game skid and snap Detroit's three-game winning streak. Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points for the Pistons, who have not won in Salt Lake City since 2002 —losing their last nine visits here. The win ended a drama-filled day for the Jazz that started with a closed-door meeting between guard Raja Bell and...

Derrick Rose had 24 points and 13 assists, Carlos Boozer scored 27 and the Chicago Bulls pounded the Utah Jazz 111-97 on Saturday night. Kyle Korver scored a season-high 26 points, and the Bulls got back to winning after their season-high eight-game streak ended with a loss to Orlando on Thursday. They turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage going into the fourth quarter and came away with a lopsided victory on a night when both teams were short-handed. The Bulls were missing All-Star Luol Deng, who was out because of pain...

He was a man among boys in high school. He has, according to his new bosses, a body ready-made for the NBA. His new coach likens him to Ben Wallace, except that unlike Big Ben, this kid can actually score. But everyone was predictably preaching caution last night when the Celtics announced that Al Jefferson was their first selection in the 2004 NBA Draft. Baloney. If Al Jefferson can't crack the starting lineup of a team that was among the worst rebounding teams in the NBA last season, then something has to be wrong.