For 22 minutes against Utah Monday night, the Celtics played an almost perfect road game. They rebounded better, received superior play from their bench and got to the free throw line at a steadier clip than the Jazz.

All that afforded the C’s a double-digit lead late in the first half, but in the final two minutes Utah was able to slice it back to five, and the Jazz then opened the second half with a 16-4 run in a 110-97 victory Monday night (click here for the full recap).

The loss snaps the Celtics' four-game winning streak and ends their three-game road trip with a 2-1 record. The Celtics got some momentum back with Friday and Saturday night wins over Houston and Dallas, but the Jazz simply proved too tough. The C’s return home to the Garden to play six straight games at home against some of the best teams in the Western Conference.

Monday night’s game wasn’t pretty. The two teams combined for 64 free throws, 51 fouls, 36 turnovers and one ejection for coach Doc Rivers, who got tossed by ref Ed Malloy in the final minutes.

It was typical for the last game of a short but grueling trip. But did it mean anything? Every Celtics win and loss has prompted a new twist in the “turn it on, turn it off” saga that has dominated the second half of the season. As he has for the last month, Rivers has resisted the urge to play that game. He’s not going to get into short-term analysis.

“It was a good trip,” Rivers told reporters after the game. “We’re not counting the trip. We’re not counting games. We’re just trying to get better.”

Still, there were interesting developments on a night when Rivers concluded, “They outplayed us. Give them credit. They were the better team.”

THE BENCH IS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE

Ever since Michael Finley’s arrival, there has been a question of what the rotation would look like if and when he got settled into a role. The first part of that question has been answered, and Rivers affirmed it last week, saying the veteran clearly had earned a spot.

Finley has struggled a little bit since scoring 15 points against the Pistons last week, but he turned in a solid eight-point performance against Utah in 14 minutes of action. Glen Davis was the other obvious bright spot with 13 points, all in the first half, and five rebounds.

Davis got himself repeatedly to the free throw line, going 7-for-7, and is beginning to finish at the rim, something he had trouble with when he returned for his hand injury.

The bench was a bright spot, scoring 46 points, and while the subs didn’t do much to stem Utah’s second-half onslaught, they did help keep the game in check until the final minutes. Tony Allen and Shelden Williams continue to be the odd men out, but both played well in very limited action.

The postseason will present an interesting puzzle for Rivers to solve. Will he stay with all 10 players or will he shorten the rotation? If he does, who gets left out? Right now it would seem to be a choice between Finley, Marquis Daniels and possibly Allen if the matchups swung the right way.

For now, 10 players is working just fine and it might be worth staying that way once the playoffs begin. 

THERE’S THE ADDED BONUS OF GOING 10 DEEP

Allen is shooting 53 percent from the floor in March (up from 50 in February) and his 3-point accuracy has improved from 35 percent to 44 in the last month.

Pierce’s stroke also has returned, and he’s made an even bigger jump in his shooting percentages after a tough February. It’s worth pointing out that Pierce also is healthier, but the two things might be related.

Rivers has always been good about monitoring Kevin Garnett’s time on the court, keeping him right around 32 minutes each night. But he has allowed Allen and Pierce to log heavy minutes at times.

Typically, that has come when one or the other has been on the court with the second unit, but with the addition of Finley and an added ballhandler in Nate Robinson, Rivers has been able to stay away from those lineup constructions.

Again, the benefits of playing five reserves at the same time goes beyond keeping everyone fresh. It also allows everyone to do their jobs and not have to take on added burdens and responsibilities.

PAUL PIERCE LEARNS ANOTHER LESSON

Paul Pierce was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging almost 25 points per game. It’s been a quick turnaround for the captain, who labored through a difficult February that included foot and hand injuries.

Pierce told the Boston Herald recently that he may have come back too soon from his various ailments, which seemed obvious from his play on the court.

Pierce missed five games in February and averaged just 11.7 points in the ones he did play. This month, however, he is shooting over 50 percent and has his 3-point percentage back up to his season average of 44 percent.

It goes without saying that the Celtics need Pierce to be at his best come playoff time. He remains the one player on the roster they can isolate in a one-on-one setting and expect to get points. Without a reliable low-block presence, Pierce’s mid-range post-ups are the closest approximation to that strategy.

Like the rest of the Celtics, Pierce appears to be learning how to play through his later seasons. Although they are often referred to as a veteran team, this is still just the third go-round for Pierce, Garnett and Allen as a unit.

Unlike the Spurs, who have had their core players and coach together for the better part of a decade, there still are learning experiences for this group to endure. Their three seasons have had very little in common. From a perfect 2007-08 to an injury-depleted 2008-09 to this season, when injuries were an expected and realistic outcome, very little has remained the same from year to year.

Whatever happens the rest of the spring and into an uncertain summer, this is not the end of the road for Pierce, Garnett and Allen as players. This simply is the next phase, and they all arelearning to deal with that reality as it happens.