The Celtics arrived in Salt Lake City early on Tuesday morning for the final leg of a tiring West Coast road trip. On the second night of a back-to-back, they were severely shorthanded, down three of their top six players.
It didn’t matter.
These Celtics have practiced consistency all season in their pursuit of a championship, hoping the habits will pay off in June. They refuse to make excuses even on a mundane Tuesday night in March, with a healthy lead atop the standings. The theme continued as the Celtics saved their best for last on the road trip, using a dominant fourth quarter run to coast to a convincing 123-107 win over the Jazz.
Jayson Tatum scored 38 points and Derrick White added 24 – which included seven 3-pointers – as the Celtics rolled to their third consecutive win, doing so without Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford. The shorthanded Celtics had plenty of firepower, as Jrue Holiday returned and produced 16 points and eight assists while their depth shined again. Luke Kornet chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Sam Hauser added 14 points as both stepped into the starting lineup.
The Celtics improved to 9-2 this season on the second night of back to backs – the best mark in the NBA – as they finished their road trip 3-2.
The Celtics used an explosive first half offensively to build a sizable 17-point lead early in the third quarter, but went cold as they made just two of their first 11 3-pointers to start the period. That allowed the young Jazz to claw back.
Jordan Clarkson’s runner closed the Celtics’ advantage to 93-91 in the final minute of the third quarter, but the C’s responded with a dominant 20-0 run that spanned more than six minutes to clinch this victory. Holiday hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 6:28 remaining in the fourth to give Boston a 22-point lead, and the C’s never looked back.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla chalked up that stretch to quality shot selection, which allowed the C’s to set up defensively and limit Utah’s transition opportunities.
“We dominated the transitions,” Mazzulla told reporters in Utah. “They couldn’t get those. I don’t know if we took a poor shot in that quarter, and that’s the difference between winning and losing against good teams. This team, their record doesn’t reflect it but they’re talented, they’re obviously well-coached and just super talented and physical, they put a ton of pressure on you, especially on the offensive end.”
Other takeaways from the Celtics’ third consecutive victory:
– White overcame a brief shooting slump on Tuesday, which came at the perfect time with the Celtics shorthanded. The guard had gone 1-for-14 from deep over the first four games of the road trip, but responded to go 7-for-11 from distance on Tuesday.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit and I told my dad, I’m just going to let it fly and that’s what I did today,” White told NBC Sports Boston.
Tatum also bounced back from a below-average shooting stretch after shooting 38.8 percent from the field over the first four games of the trip. He went 13-for-25 in Tuesday’s win, and looked more aggressive than he has of late in getting to the rim.
– The Celtics certainly need Porzingis if they’re going to win a championship, but the end of this road trip continued to show they have reliable frontcourt depth behind him. Kornet had another productive game on both ends, and Xavier Tillman looked good with seven points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes, his most playing time since joining the Celtics. He joined Kornet in a double-big lineup, which included a stretch together during the 20-0 run.
“X didn’t know he was going to play as much as he did,” Mazzulla told reporters. “Just the professionalism and the stay readiness that they had is a credit to the coaching staff and a credit to the players, but their ability to be flexible. Luke and X had never played together, but they were able to find ways to connect offensively and defensively, and when you have your role players being able to do that, it really helps us.”
– The Jazz entered Tuesday leading the league with 16.8 second-chance points per game from 12.6 offensive rebounds per game. But the Celtics limited those opportunities. They held the Jazz to just nine offensive rebounds and outscored them 22-10 in second-chance points.
“Everybody did a great job,” Mazzulla said. “That’s how this team beats you, is transition threes, transition baskets, offensive rebound threes, free throws and really take advantage of your inability to have good possessions. So when you have empty possessions offensively, they put a ton of pressure on you. Our guys did a great job holding them to one shot, which took away those margin plays and momentum plays.”
– The Celtics were on fire to start the game as they produced 13 assists and 44 points in the first quarter, both season highs for the opening period. Holiday had six of those assists.
The C’s went 14-for-25 from long range in the first half as they torched one of the league’s worst 3-point defenses, but they were also dominant in the pick-and-roll as White and Holiday continuously made great decisions.
– The Celtics, with a 51-14 record, now hold a six-game lead atop the NBA standings after the Thunder’s loss to the Pacers on Tuesday night, and a 9.5-game lead atop the Eastern Conference standings following the Bucks’ loss to the Kings.
