The Boston Celtics grabbed an emphatic win over the visiting Utah Jazz Friday night, cruising to an easy 126-97 victory. Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in just 25 minutes of action, and in the process, put his club one step closer to grabbing a spot in the record books.
With the win, the Celtics tied a franchise record for most consecutive home victories to start a season. Back in 1957-58, Boston won 17 straight home games to open the year. Fast-forward to the 2023-24 campaign, and these Celtics have now matched that number. Boston will have a chance to move to 18-0 at TD Garden for the year when the Minnesota Timberwolves come to town on next week on January 10.
A shot at history will have to wait, though. For now, let’s take a closer look at a loud Celtics victory against the Jazz.
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Boston offense
Boston was scoring early and often in this one. By halftime the home team had built a 31-point lead, and never really looked back.
Ball movement and hot shooting were once again key for the Celtics. Their shooting numbers for the game took a bit of a hit thanks to garbage time, but during the competitive parts of the game, Boston was lights out. Overall, they had 23 assists on 39 made shots, with 36 free throw attempts to boot. All told, six guys in green scored 10 or more.
According to the team’s radio play-by-play broadcaster Sean Grande, Friday marked the 15th time the Celtics offense has authored a 20-point lead this season, and the fifth time in their last 8 games. As such, Friday’s monster win was just another piece of evidence that the scoring potential for Boston this season is serious.
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Boston's defense
The Jazz found a bit of rhythm of their own on offense, but they didn’t really put up much of a fight. They shot an icy 17.6% from 3 and 34-for-94 from the field overall.
Credit Boston’s defense for making things difficult for the Jazz. While Utah had an off night shooting, the Celtics did force 18 turnovers with 8 team blocks and 9 steals.
Still, with Boston firing on all cylinders on offense, it appeared the Celtics were a little more relaxed on the other side of the ball, especially defending the rim. Utah actually logged 50 points in the paint, 10 more than the Celtics, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. This, of course, was not enough to keep things competitive.
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Looking ahead
Next week’s against the visiting Timberwolves should be exciting. It will be a chance for Boston to redeem an early season loss, a chance for the Celtics to set some history, and a tilt between two bona fide contenders.
Between now and then, though, Boston has some work to do. They have twin road games against the Indiana Pacers. And after a quick stop back home, they hit the road once again with a visit to Cream City to face the Milwaukee Bucks.
For now, the Celtics move to 27-7 on the season after Friday’s convincing win.
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) January 5, 2024
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