The Celtics started off their road trip strong, beating the Jazz 121-99 on Friday in Utah. The Celtics won their fourth straight game as they improved to 51-19. The Jazz dropped to 16-55 as they’re at the bottom of the West standings.
The C’s were everywhere early as they built up a 17-point lead in the first quarter. But the Jazz fought back to make it a close game as they were feisty. By the end of the game, though, the Celtics closed out the win comfortably as the Jazz didn’t have enough answers.
The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown on Friday as he deals with a bone bruise with posterior impingement in his right knee, per the team. That’s going to be an area the Celtics will monitor going forward considering the playoffs open next month. The All-Star will be re-evaluated Monday.
Kristaps Porzingis led the way with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Jayson Tatum added another 26 points while Payton Pritchard poured in 18 points off the bench. Collin Sexton scored 30 points for the Jazz while Keyonte George had 19 points and seven assists.
The Celtics next take on the Trail Blazers at 6 p.m. Sunday in Portland for their next game. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Utah:
Continuing to dominate: Porzingis continues to fill up the box score ever since returning from his illness. That’s always a positive sign, plus he played at higher elevation in Salt Lake City. The Celtics are going to be smart with Porzingis ahead of the playoffs, but he also needs to get his legs back under him by actually playing in games. Porzingis did a little bit of everything Friday as he also shot 9-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-5 on 3s. The C’s are whole with him in the lineup and he’s answered the bell since returning from his illness.
Bench contributions: The Celtics again showed why they’re so deep even though they were without one of their All-Stars. The reserves chipped in throughout the game. Sam Hauser scored 14 points while Pritchard had 18 points and four assists. Luke Kornet also continues to give the Celtics what they need as he had eight rebounds, three blocks and was a plus-23 during his 17 minutes. Notably, Baylor Scheierman, after his recent career game, had a quiet night going 0-for-4 from the field, all from 3-point land. But the rookie getting rotation minutes is still a positive sign as the Celtics continue to develop their first-round pick.
Continuing to play: Tatum’s been clear that he wants to suit up every chance he gets — especially on the road, where fans rarely get to see him on the court. So even though the Celtics are going to rest some guys over this long trip, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tatum consistently. He also filled up the box score Friday, finishing with 26 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. The six turnovers were tough as he’ll admit he needs to clean some of those up.
Long road trip: The Celtics won’t be back home until April as they navigate a season-long road trip. They next have a back-to-back, playing Portland on Sunday then Sacramento on Monday. Expect them to stagger guys like Porzingis and Al Horford so they have available guys in their rotation those nights. Brown’s dealing with a knee issue that’ll keep him out for a couple games, including Friday. So expect the Celtics to mix up rest and playing their guys on this long stretch with plenty of travel and flying.
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