The Celtics got to Salt Lake City early on Tuesday morning for the last part of a tiring West Coast road trip. On the second night of playing two games in a row, they were without three of their top six players.
It didn’t matter.
These Celtics have shown consistent performance all season as they aim for a championship, hoping that their habits will lead to success in June. They do not make excuses even on an ordinary Tuesday night in March, despite having a comfortable lead in the standings. This mindset continued as the Celtics saved their best performance for the last game of the road trip, winning convincingly 123-107 against the Jazz.
Jayson Tatum scored 38 points and Derrick White contributed 24, including seven 3-pointers, as the Celtics achieved their third straight win without Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford, finishing the road trip 3-2.
The Celtics had a strong offensive start, establishing a significant 17-point lead early in the third quarter, but then struggled and let the young Jazz start to catch up. Jordan Clarkson’s shot reduced the Celtics’ lead to 93-91 in the final minute of the third quarter, but the team responded with a dominant 20-0 run that lasted over seven minutes to secure the victory. Jrue Holiday scored consecutive 3-pointers with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter, giving Boston a 22-point lead, and they never lost the lead.
