The last time the Celtics lost five games in a row, their head coach resigned. For the first time since Jim O'Brien took over, Boston dropped its fifth consecutive game, a 96-91 setback to the Utah Jazz last night. But neither O'Brien nor any of his players plan on going away, with the playoffs around the corner. Antoine Walker talked about building toward better play before the postseason.

Whatever O'Brien told his players after the loss to the Denver Nuggets Saturday worked in the first half last night, but it could not sustain the Celtics through the second half. The Boston team that took the floor at the Delta Center before a crowd of 18,795 was noticeably more aggressive, clawing for rebounds, and diving to the floor for loose balls, sometimes two at a time. Early on, the Celtics overcame foul trouble that plagued Paul Pierce and Mark Blount. It appeared nothing would derail the Celtics' desire for a win, not even the absence of Tony Battie, who sat out because of increased pain in his right knee.