Celtics' jam session silences Jazz; Record now 23-2 after 15th win in a row.

Byline: Bill Doyle

BOSTON - Rajon Rondo was badly outplayed by New Orleans point guard Chris Paul on Friday, but he more than made up for it last night against another of the league's top point guards.

Rondo came close to compiling his second triple-double of the season, collecting a career-high 25 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists to lead the Celtics to a 100-91 victory over Utah at the Garden.

Deron Williams is bigger and stronger than Rondo, and he scored 32 points when Utah handed Boston its worst home loss of last season, 110-92, on March 14, but Rondo more than held his own against him last night. Williams, still recovering from an ankle injury, finished with 15 points and seven assists before fouling out with 29.6 seconds left.

"Every night, I've got to bring it," Rondo said. "I've got Mike Bibby Wednesday. Each night, I don't feel I have a night off."

Tomorrow night, the Celtics visit Bibby and the Hawks for the first time since Boston lost all three games in Atlanta during the opening round of last season's playoffs. The Hawks snapped Cleveland's 11-game winning streak last week.

Utah ended the Celtics' season-high 10-game winning streak last season, but couldn't prevent the Green from stretching their winning streak this season to 15 games. That's the franchise's fourth-longest winning streak. The Celtics won 16 straight in 1964-65, 17 in 1959-60 and 18 in 1981-82.

At 23-2, the Celtics tied the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the third-best record with two losses in NBA history. The 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1969-70 New York Knicks were 26-2 before they suffered their third losses.

Rondo clinched the win by heaving a layup from his stomach with his back to the basket to make it 97-89 with 43.6 seconds left.

"We worked on that this morning," Celtics coach Doc Rivers joked. "That was terrific. When he finishes, he's really good. He puts more English on the ball than Minnesota Fats at times. Sometimes, they don't go in, and that's when I get mad at him, and when they go in, I love him."

"That's his game," Garnett said. "Paul (Pierce) told me never to play that man in H-O-R-S-E, and I had to learn the hard way."

Pierce injured his left knee when Mehmet Okur fell on him with 31 seconds left, and he went to the locker room with his arms draped around Leon Powe and Glen Davis.

"It's a little tender," Pierce said. "The knee kind of buckled. It should be all right. I just iced it in the back, and I was able to put weight on it. We'll see how it feels in the morning."

Pierce repeatedly rubbed his knee during his postgame interview.

In Boston's 94-82 win over the Hornets on Friday, Paul had 20 points and 14 assists while Rondo finished with only 10 points and two assists.

"We felt against New Orleans, he walked the ball up the floor," Rivers said, "and played at a medium pace, and that allowed them to stop him and him to struggle. Tonight, we told him every single time we get a rebound we want you at full speed up the floor, and he did that."

"He's like a little Speedy Gonzalez," Pierce said.

The Celtics won despite turning the ball over 23 times, one less than their season high. They turned it over 24 times at Indiana on Nov. 1 when they suffered their first loss of the season, 95-79.

"Fortunately for us," Rivers said, "they turned it over 18 times. So that kind of gave us a shot."

Only two of Boston's turnovers came in the fourth quarter, however.

Rondo scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and led all five Celtics starters in double-figure scoring for the game. Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Pierce and Kendrick Perkins each scored 15. Perkins also pulled down 14 rebounds to help Boston outrebound Utah, 50-30. Ray Allen scored 12.

Paul Millsap scored a career-high 32 points for Utah in place of Carlos Boozer, Utah's leading scorer and rebounder, who missed his 14th consecutive game with a strained left quad.

Rondo hit Garnett with a bounce pass for a dunk and found Ray Allen in the corner for a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 spurt to open the third quarter and put Boston on top for good, 50-43. The Celtics took a 69-65 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Celtics shot 58.8 percent and outrebounded Utah, 13-6, while jumping to a 28-16 lead after one quarter.

Millsap made 7 of 11 shots, scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds as Utah fought the Celtics even, 43-43, at the half.

Perkins had a double-double in the first half, 12 points and 10 rebounds. He had collected only three double-doubles all season.

Michael Phelps, winner of eight swimming gold medals in 2008 Olympics in Beijing in August, was introduced to the crowd during a break in the fourth quarter and met with the Celtics in their locker room after the game.

NAME: BOSTON CELTICS

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Utah's Paul Millsap, right, collides with Boston's Kevin Garnett during the first half last night.

PHOTOG: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS