By GREG MENGELT
SALT LAKE CITY — Romeo Langford scored 6 points in 11 minutes before suffering a right ankle sprain in the Celtics’ 137-130 loss at Utah on Friday.
Langford — a former New Albany and Indiana University star — had a driving dunk with 27 seconds left that pulled Boston within 35-25. That was his first of three straight baskets for the Celtics, who fall to 12-11 with the loss.
On the first possession of the second quarter, Langford’s layup cut the deficit to 38-27. On Boston’s next possession, his bucket got the Celtics within 41-29.
Langford left the contest with 6:02 and never returned. The Celtics announced he was done for the night during the second half. He finished 3 for 4 from the field with 2 rebounds and a steal.
After trailing the entire first half, a Robert Williams dunk gave the Celtics a 113-109 lead. Utah (15-7) responded with a 21-12 run and took control of the contest.
Former Louisville star Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz, who are third in the Western Conference — four games behind Phoenix and a half-game behind Golden State — with 34 points in 33 minutes. He also had 6 assists in the victory. Indianapolis native Mike Conley added 29 points. Six Jazz players finished in double figures.
Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 37 points. Dennis Schroeder had 26 and Al Horford 21 for Boston, which stays out west for games in Portland (Saturday), Los Angeles vs. the Lakers (Tuesday) and Clipper (Wednesday) and Phoenix (next Friday). The game vs. the Lakers is on TNT and the contest in Phoenix is on ESPN.
