The Boston Celtics clamped down on defense to lead them to a 123-107 victory in Salt Lake City, keeping the Utah Jazz scoreless for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Celtics improved their record to 9-2 this year despite missing three of their top six players. This was made possible by the solid contributions of every player who saw the floor.
With more playing time, a number of players really stepped up, particularly Xavier Tillman and Oshae Brissett, who contributed critical offensive rebounds and terrific intensity.
Jayson Tatum was on one Tuesday night in Utah, tormenting the Jazz’s defense to the tune of 38 points and 6 rebounds on 13/25 shooting. JT had to be great with Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis sitting this one out; he answered the call and then some.
Tatum’s durability can’t be emphasized enough. He continues to give his all every night regardless of the opponent.
Derrick White finished the Celtics 5-game road trip with a fantastic effort, recording 24 points and 6 rebounds while knocking down 7/11 from downtown. DWhite also blocked 3 shots in this game, extending his lead league among guards in that category.
Derrick absolutely deserves to be 1st team All-Defense this year in the NBA, and I would be shocked if that isn’t the case.
Boston’s other three starters were also in double figures, recording their 26th game this season with the entire starting five eclipsing 10 points in the same game.
Boston moves to 51-14 on the season following the win with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
With Milwaukee currently down by 20 in Sacramento, the Celtics will likely end the night 10 games ahead of the 2nd-place Bucks in the loss column.
I love how the Celtics continue to not mess around with the subpar teams this season, sitting at 24-1 against teams below .500. The C’s concluded their final West Coast road trip with a 3-2 record after starting out 0-2.
The Celtics next game will be Thursday against Phoenix. Go Celtics!
