


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 in a convincing 123-107 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 to finish 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 and 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 seven minutes to clinch this victory. Jrue 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.