When Boston was challenging for championships, it could often overcome that reality with sheer talent. That is no longer the case, so discouraging losses such as this one loom.

Boston coughed up a 14-point first-half lead and was finished off when Utah center Jusuf Nurkic gobbled up an offensive rebound and converted a putback with 0.6 seconds left.

The Celtics had time for a counterattack, but after a timeout, Brown was whistled for an offensive foul before the ball was inbounded.

Brown had no qualms about that call, but he was furious about one that preceded it. With 47 seconds left and the Celtics leading, 102-101, Brown was starting to drive toward the basket when Keyonte George slipped and fell in front of him.

Brown tried to avoid George and his left foot began to slip before he tumbled over the Jazz guard. No foul was called, however. Brown put his palms in the air and appeared mystified as he sat on the ground and watched the Jazz race upcourt for the go-ahead basket.

After the game, his view of the play had not changed.

“Man, y’all going to get fined because you can’t have a mistake like that as an official at that point in the game,” Brown said. “It’s fourth quarter. There’s a minute left in the game or less. And you completely — the whole staff blows the [expletive] call, you know what I mean? It cost us the game. Unacceptable. They’re telling me like, ‘Aw, we didn’t see it.’ How did none of you see it? You can’t trip somebody in the fourth quarter and then just be a no call. It’s some [expletive].”

In a referee pool report, crew chief Kevin Scott said the officials saw George and Brown slip in the same spot, and that Brown lost the ball before there was contact.

Regardless, the Celtics should have avoided that predicament altogether. They lost because they made just 11 of 51 3-pointers and were out-rebounded, 55-36.

Brown scored a game-high 36 points but was 0 for 9 from beyond the arc, wiping away most of his encouraging long-range work earlier this season. Sam Hauser was 1 for 8.

Jaylen Brown made a layup and was fouled by Jazz forward Kevin Love in the third quarter at TD Garden.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

The Celtics, who built a powerhouse by relying on the long ball, have hit just 31.2 percent of their 3-pointers this season, 29th in the NBA.

“We don’t want to be in a position where now we’re second-guessing certain shots, hesitating, because then that isn’t going to be our best ability,” Payton Pritchard said. “For me, if I miss a couple, then maybe I think about hitting the paint, attacking, trying to get a flow. But again, it takes one and then you catch rhythm again, so I encourage guys to continue taking them.”

George poured in 31 points for the Jazz, who were playing their second game in as many nights and won despite committing 19 turnovers.

The Celtics had a 46-36 halftime lead but were pummeled in the third quarter, when the Jazz made 13 of 18 shots and the Celtics were just 1 for 11 from the 3-point line.

“I mean, just bad,” Derrick White said. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but bad communication, bad rotations. They kind of did whatever they wanted that quarter, and that’s been, kind of like the whole year, there’s always been that one quarter that seems to get us.”

Jayson Tatum (left) might be injured but he was ready to lend a hand as Sam Hauser fell into the Celtics bench trying to save a loose ball.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

Utah started the fourth with a 16-7 run and took a 90-79 lead, its largest, on a Kevin Love layup, igniting some groans from the Garden crowd.

Brown gave the Celtics a chance, however. He converted a 3-point play and a layup that he followed by a steal and another layup. Then with the score tied at 99, he surged into the lane and hit a 9-footer that gave Boston a lead with 1:24 left.

The Celtics took a 102-101 lead on a defensive three-second technical foul free throw, but Brown’s collision with George resulted in a Jazz fast break and a layup by Lauri Markkanen. An unsettled possession ended with Brown finding Neemias Queta, who was fouled inside with 24.8 seconds left. He hit the first free throw but missed the second.

At the other end, with the score tied, George ran the clock down and missed a jumper from the right baseline. But Nurkic scooped up the offensive rebound and scored.

Ben Volin and Alex Speier break down the World Series and debate if Ohtani is the greatest player of all time, plus Red Sox great Fred Lynn joins the show.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.