The Celtics' maiden voyage out West this season got off to a rocky start. They started slowly and then simply could not stop the Jazz when it mattered and dropped a 99-86 decision last night at the Delta Center.

It wasn't a pretty evening. In a city that is going to host the Winter Olympics in February, the Celtics shot like nervous biathletes, played with the efficiency of the Jamaican bobsled team, and generally felt they were victimized by some old East German figure skating judges.

But the reality is that they had no answers to stopping Utah inside, as the Jazz overpowered the Celtics with easy baskets at one end (51 percent shooting), blocked shots at the other (11, including six by Greg Ostertag), and rebounds at both (48-32).

Coach Jim O'Brien cut right to the chase afterward.

''I thought we played an undisciplined defensive game,'' he said. ''Our defense was not up to par. If it had been, we would have won the game. But I think our defense stunk.''

The teams were playing for the second time in six days, the Celtics having won last Friday at the FleetCenter. But this looked a lot more like the Utah team we've come to know over the years with crisp passing (28 assists) and execution when it mattered. The Jazz led by 9 after three and never allowed the Celtics to get closer than 6 the rest of the way.

''Every time we'd try to get back into the game, they'd make a big play,'' lamented Antoine Walker, who had a forgettable shooting night (7 of 18). ''We didn't make the stops we needed to make.''