Game ID: 22300943
Boston Celtics @ Utah Jazz
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
UTA 33 24 34 16 107BOS 44 28 26 25 123
BOS @ UTA ScoutingBOS @ UTA Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
UTA availability going into 3/02 · 1 day's restOUT Juzang missed 2 since 2/27, out tonight
OUT Potter missed 34 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Yurtseven missed 2 since 2/27, returns tonight: 15 min (130% of 11)
OUT Preston missed 7 since 2/12, out tonight
BACK Horton-Tucker back 2/27 after 2, 10 min since (51% of 20)
NEW George 27 to 33 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/04 · 1 day's restOUT Kessler missed 2 since 2/29, out tonight
OUT Juzang missed 3 since 2/27, returns tonight: 20 min (108% of 19)
OUT Potter missed 35 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Preston missed 8 since 2/12, out tonight
BACK Horton-Tucker back 2/27 after 2, 15 min since (76% of 20)
BACK Yurtseven back 2/25 after 2, 9 min since (76% of 11)
NEW George 27 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 27 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/06 · 1 day's restOUT Kessler missed 3 since 2/29, out tonight
OUT Potter missed 36 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Preston missed 9 since 2/12, out tonight
BACK Horton-Tucker back 2/27 after 2, 15 min since (76% of 20)
BACK Juzang back 2/25 after 4, 11 min since (61% of 19)
BACK Yurtseven back 2/25 after 2, 8 min since (73% of 11)
UTA availability going into 3/09 · 2 days' restOUT Markkanen missed 2 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Kessler missed 4 since 2/29, returns tonight: 24 min (105% of 23)
OUT Potter missed 37 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Preston missed 10 since 2/12, out tonight
BACK Horton-Tucker back 2/27 after 2, 17 min since (88% of 20)
BACK Juzang back 3/04 after 3, 20 min since (109% of 19)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/02 after 2, 13 min since (112% of 11)
NEW Sexton 27 to 32 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/12 · 2 days' restOUT Markkanen missed 3 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Hendricks missed 2 since 3/06, out tonight
OUT Potter missed 38 since 12/18, returns tonight: 13 min (111% of 12)
OUT Preston missed 11 since 2/12, out tonight
BACK Kessler back 3/09 after 4, 24 min since (105% of 23)
BACK Juzang back 3/04 after 3, 16 min since (84% of 19)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/02 after 2, 11 min since (94% of 11)
NEW Collins 28 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/15 · 2 days' restOUT Markkanen missed 4 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Hendricks missed 3 since 3/06, returns tonight: 19 min (91% of 21)
OUT Preston missed 12 since 2/12, returns tonight: 12 min (121% of 10)
BACK Kessler back 3/09 after 4, 22 min since (92% of 23)
BACK Juzang back 3/04 after 3, 16 min since (84% of 19)
BACK Potter back 3/12 after 38, 13 min since (111% of 12)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/02 after 2, 11 min since (94% of 11)
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Sensabaugh 18 to 24 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/16 · back-to-backOUT Markkanen missed 5 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 2 since 3/12, out tonight
OUT Yurtseven missed 2 since 3/12, returns tonight: 18 min (155% of 11)
BACK Kessler back 3/09 after 4, 23 min since (99% of 23)
BACK Hendricks back 3/15 after 3, 19 min since (91% of 21)
BACK Juzang back 3/04 after 3, 18 min since (97% of 19)
BACK Potter back 3/12 after 38, 14 min since (117% of 12)
BACK Preston back 3/15 after 12, 12 min since (121% of 10)
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Dunn 19 to 24 min over the last 4
NEW Sensabaugh 18 to 27 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/18 · 1 day's restOUT Markkanen missed 6 since 3/04, returns tonight: 31 min (93% of 33)
OUT Clarkson missed 2 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 3 since 3/12, out tonight
BACK Kessler back 3/09 after 4, 25 min since (107% of 23)
BACK Hendricks back 3/15 after 3, 26 min since (123% of 21)
BACK Potter back 3/12 after 38, 13 min since (115% of 12)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/16 after 2, 18 min since (155% of 11)
BACK Preston back 3/15 after 12, 13 min since (123% of 10)
NEW George 27 to 34 min over the last 4
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Sensabaugh 18 to 28 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/20 · 1 day's restOUT Clarkson missed 3 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 4 since 3/12, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 3/18 after 6, 31 min since (93% of 33)
BACK Kessler back 3/09 after 4, 26 min since (109% of 23)
BACK Hendricks back 3/15 after 3, 27 min since (125% of 21)
BACK Potter back 3/12 after 38, 13 min since (115% of 12)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/16 after 2, 18 min since (155% of 11)
BACK Preston back 3/15 after 12, 13 min since (123% of 10)
NEW George 27 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Sensabaugh 18 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/05 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 5 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 3/01 after 2, 16 min since (134% of 12)
BOS availability going into 3/07 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 6 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 3/01 after 2, 16 min since (134% of 12)
BOS availability going into 3/09 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 7 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 3/01 after 2, 15 min since (126% of 12)
BOS availability going into 3/11 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 8 since 2/22, returns tonight: 2 min (17% of 11)
OUT Brissett missed 3 since 3/05, returns tonight: 19 min (183% of 10)
BACK Tillman back 3/01 after 2, 15 min since (126% of 12)
BOS availability going into 3/12 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 2 since 3/09, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 2 since 3/09, returns tonight: 26 min (215% of 12)
BACK Queta back 3/11 after 8, 2 min since (17% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 3/11 after 3, 19 min since (183% of 10)
BOS availability going into 3/14 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 3 since 3/09, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 3/12 after 2, 26 min since (215% of 12)
BACK Queta back 3/11 after 8, 2 min since (17% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 3/11 after 3, 18 min since (171% of 10)
NEW Kornet 15 to 21 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 3/17 · 2 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 3/09, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 2 since 3/12, returns tonight: 8 min (75% of 11)
BACK Tillman back 3/12 after 2, 22 min since (180% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 3/11 after 3, 13 min since (124% of 10)
NEW Kornet 15 to 20 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 3/18 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 5 since 3/09, returns tonight: 22 min (74% of 29)
BACK Tillman back 3/12 after 2, 20 min since (160% of 12)
BACK Queta back 3/11 after 8, 5 min since (46% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 3/11 after 3, 17 min since (162% of 10)
NEW Hauser 21 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Kornet 15 to 20 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/20 · 1 day's restBACK Porziņģis back 3/18 after 5, 22 min since (74% of 29)
BACK Tillman back 3/12 after 2, 19 min since (156% of 12)
BACK Queta back 3/11 after 8, 5 min since (46% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 3/11 after 3, 17 min since (165% of 10)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Hauser 21 to 28 min over the last 4
NEW Kornet 15 to 22 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 123, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sexton at 21 and Clarkson at 20 a game. Without Markkanen (3 straight), Hendricks (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 103, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 15 free throws a game; Brown at 29 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 103 a night to Utah's 123 and the line, where Utah takes 22 free throws a game to Boston's 15. Call it Boston 119, Utah 114.
3/02 @ MIA 120-126 — UTA notes
UTA lost 120-126. UTA shot 48% (42 of 87) to MIA's 52%, 14 of 35 from three. George led with 31 (12 of 23, 6 of 14 from three); Markkanen added 25, Collins 18. Q1 was theirs, 34-30, but the other 3 periods went 96-86 against them. They led by as many as 11. Collins's -16 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/04 vs WAS 127-115 — UTA notes
UTA won 127-115. UTA shot 49% (49 of 101) to WAS's 43%, 16 of 40 from three, and got to the line 15 times to WAS's 23. Clarkson led with 38 (13 of 26, 4 of 9 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Sexton added 29, Collins 17. The hinge was Q4, 25-14: a lead of 1 became 12. UTA trailed 74-75 at the half and won the second half 53-40. Clarkson was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
3/06 vs CHI 117-119 — UTA notes
UTA lost 117-119. UTA shot 46% (44 of 96) to CHI's 50%, 15 of 47 from three. Collins led with 25 (11 of 20, 2 of 9 from three); Sexton added 24, Clarkson 15. Q4 was theirs, 34-26, the deficit cut from 10 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 93-83 against them. Horton-Tucker's -10 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/09 @ DEN 121-142 — UTA notes
UTA lost 121-142. UTA took 11 more shots (94 to 83), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 50% to DEN's 66%, 8 of 26 from three, and went to the line 25 times to DEN's 16 — 19 points from the stripe to their 13. George led with 29 (10 of 17, 5 of 8 from three); Clarkson added 22, Collins 19. Q3 was theirs, 44-24, the deficit cut from 34 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 118-77 against them. Clarkson's -29 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/12 vs BOS 107-123 — UTA notes
UTA lost 107-123. UTA shot 48% (41 of 86) to BOS's 47%, 15 of 32 from three, and got to the line just 11 times against 18 fouls committed. George led with 26 (9 of 17, 5 of 10 from three); Clarkson added 21, Sexton 20. Q3 was theirs, 34-26, the deficit cut from 15 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 97-73 against them. George's -26 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/15 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 125, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Clarkson at 24 and Sexton at 22 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Markkanen (4 straight), Hendricks (3 straight). 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 103, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Murray at 29 and Bogdanović at 15 a game. Without Young (9 straight), Johnson (3 straight), Okongwu (11 straight). One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 103 a night to Utah's 125. Call it Atlanta 117, Utah 116, Utah keeping it close.
3/16 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 124, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Clarkson at 24 and Sexton at 22 a game. Without Markkanen (5 straight), Lofton Jr. (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 28 and Reid at 18 a game. Without Towns (4 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 112 a night to Utah's 124 and the arc, Utah at 38 percent from three to Minnesota's 33. Call it Minnesota 117, Utah 114, Utah keeping it close.
3/18 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 125, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; George at 24 and Sexton at 21 a game. Without Markkanen (6 straight), Clarkson (2 straight), Lofton Jr. (3 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 17 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Reid at 20 a game. Without Towns (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 109 a night to Utah's 125 and the glass, where Utah has been plus-3 a night and Minnesota minus-1. Call it Minnesota 117, Utah 113, Utah keeping it close.
3/20 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 15 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. 3 days' rest. Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 124, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; George at 23 and Sexton at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Clarkson (3 straight), Lofton Jr. (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 109 a night to Utah's 124. Call it OKC 122, Utah 111, OKC by 11.
3/05 @ CLE 104-105 — BOS notes
BOS lost 104-105. BOS shot 42% (39 of 93) to CLE's 43%, 15 of 38 from three. BOS turned it over 13 times to CLE's 8, and CLE turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 53-42 for them. Tatum led with 26 (8 of 21, 5 of 9 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Porziņģis added 24, Brown 21. Q1 was theirs, 33-25, but the other 3 periods went 80-71 against them. They led by as many as 22. Holiday's -14 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/07 @ DEN 109-115 — BOS notes
BOS lost 109-115. BOS shot 45% (41 of 91) to DEN's 50%, 11 of 38 from three. BOS turned it over 12 times to DEN's 7, and DEN turned those into 10 steals. Brown led with 41 (16 of 29, 2 of 7 from three, 7 of 14 at the line); Porziņģis added 24, Tatum 15. Q4 was theirs, 29-25, the deficit cut from 10 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 90-80 against them. Tillman's -12 in 13 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/09 @ PHX 117-107 — BOS notes
BOS won 117-107. BOS shot 49% (46 of 94) to PHX's 51%, 15 of 39 from three. Tatum led with 29 (11 of 28, 5 of 9 from three); Brown added 27, Holiday 15. The hinge was Q2, 31-24: a lead of 5 became 12, and the lead reached 15. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
3/11 @ POR 121-99 — BOS notes
BOS won 121-99. BOS shot 49% (49 of 100) to POR's 45%, 15 of 40 from three. BOS turned it over 3 times to POR's 11. Brown led with 27 (13 of 29, 1 of 8 from three); Tatum added 26, Hauser 22. The hinge was Q1, 37-28: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 24. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
3/12 @ UTA 123-107 — BOS notes
BOS won 123-107. BOS shot 47% (43 of 92) to UTA's 48%, 20 of 49 from three, and went to the line 19 times to UTA's 11 — 17 points from the stripe to their 10. Tatum led with 38 (13 of 25, 4 of 10 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); White added 24, Holiday 16. The hinge was Q1, 44-33: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 22. White was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
3/14 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 16 free throws a game; Brown at 29 and Tatum at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Porziņģis (3 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Durant at 34 and Beal at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Okogie (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 14 times a game to Boston's 10 and the defense, Boston allowing 107 a night to Phoenix's 113. Call it Boston 117, Phoenix 111.
3/17 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Kuzma at 24 and Avdija at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 13 a night. Without Bagley III (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Brown at 33 and Tatum at 27 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Porziņģis (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-0 a night and Washington minus-13 and the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to Washington's 33. Call it Boston 120, Washington 110, Boston by 10.
3/18 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 16 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and Tatum at 30 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Porziņģis (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Cunningham at 20 and Fontecchio at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Brown Jr. (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to Detroit's 32 and the glass, where Detroit has been plus-11 a night and Boston plus-0. Call it Boston 120, Detroit 108, Boston by 12.
3/20 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 45 from three, 16 free throws a game; Brown at 32 and Tatum at 30 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 32 and Lillard at 24 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 103 a night to Milwaukee's 121 and the line, where Milwaukee takes 23 free throws a game to Boston's 16. Call it Boston 122, Milwaukee 112, Boston by 10.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSDW D. White
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
LK L. Kornet
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
XT X. Tillman
UTABS B. Sensabaugh
CS C. Sexton
JC J. Clarkson
JC J. Collins
KD K. Dunn
KG K. George
LS L. Samanic
MP M. Potter
TH T. Horton-Tucker
WK W. Kessler
BOS/UTA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Tatum scores 38 and Celtics use 20-0 run to get past Jazz 123-107
SALT LAKE CITY -- — Jayson Tatum scored 38 points and Derrick White added 24 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 123-107 win over the struggling Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
The Celtics were missing rotation players Jaylen Brown (back), Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Al Horford (toe) but shot so well it didn’t matter much.
“The law of averages, you play so many games you won’t be perfect every night. You have to stick with it and trust that you’re going to have more good days than bad,” Tatum said about the Celtics shooting 40.8% from 3-point range.
Jrue Holiday scored 16 points and Sam Hauser had 14 as the Celtics made 20 3-pointers and outscored the Jazz on second-chance points, 22-8.
“We won that battle on the boards and we needed to,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said
Keyonte George scored 14 of his 26 points in the first quarter, Jordan Clarkson tallied 21 and Collin Sexton had 20 for Utah, which has dropped 11 of its last 13 games.
The Jazz played without leading scorer Lauri Markkanen (thigh) and Taylor Hendricks (toe).
Clarkson sparked an 11-3 run in the third quarter to draw the Jazz within two after trailing by double-digits much of the game.
But the Celtics responded with 20 straight points. Holiday made back-to-back 3-pointers to extend their lead to 113-91 with 6:28 to play.
“We have a lot of elite defenders and a lot of guys that are competing on both sides of the ball. When you have guys doing things like that, tt just drives you to compete more defensively it’s just a lot of fun,” White said.
Boston forced 12 straight empty possessions by the Jazz to take back control of the game, mostly without Tatum.
“We have a lot of fight in us,” George said. “But (Boston) was hitting shots. We got stagnant a little bit and the ball wasn’t going in the hoop.”
The Celtics finished their five-game road trip strong with three straight wins. They also improved their record on second games of back-to-back sets to an impressive 9-2.
“I think the last game of a road trip is always important. This was a big win, we lost here last year, and a lot of guys got some minutes tonight and stepped up big,” Tatum said.
The Celtics, who became the first team in the NBA to reach 50 wins on Monday, turned up their defensive pressure whenever the Jazz closed the gap.
“It's very much frustrating especially when you’re trying to play defense,” Sexton said about Utah's big drought.
Injuries on both sides necessitated some rarely seen lineups of two-way contract holders and end-of-the-bench players.
Utah even defended Tatum with the 6-foot-1 Sexton for stretches in the second half.
Led by White and Houser hitting four 3s each, the Celtics made 14 shots from beyond the arc in the first half to surge to a 72-57 lead at the half.
“You always want to get off to a good start. Obviously, when you’re hitting 3s it looks good,” White said.
White finished with seven 3s after his father urged him to not think twice about shooting.
“He said something about last game my 3s were looking better, so I told him I'm just going to let it fly and that's just what my mindset was,” White said.
Hauser is taking advantage of his recent opportunities with a season-high 22 at Portland Monday and 14 against the Jazz.
“We have a culture where it doesn't matter who is in, guys are ready to play,” Mazzulla said. “I have no hesitancy putting any one of those guys in at any time.”