NBA: Celtics roll past Jazz for 5th straight victory

Jaylen Brown Celtics

Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts during the first half of a game against the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden on December 17, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images/AFP

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 26 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 125-97 win over the visiting Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

Boston (46-28) led by as many as 32 points on the way to its fifth consecutive win and snapped a four-game losing streak against Utah (45-28).

Robert Williams III added 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead four other Celtics in double figures. Marcus Smart fired off nine of his career-high 13 assists in the first quarter.

Donovan Mitchell had 37 points to lead the Jazz, who have lost back-to-back games after a three-game winning streak.

Bostonā€™s lead was cut to 18 on Mitchellā€™s 3-pointer with 6:41 to go in the third quarter, but 12 of the next 15 points went the hostsā€™ way and made it a 27-point edge again. Derrick White ended that stretch with a corner 3-pointer at the 3:32 mark.

The Celtics hit three of their first four field goals in the fourth quarter, capped by a Payton Pritchard trey with 9:49 left. With the starters out, a Luke Kornet turnaround hook shot with 1:12 left gave Boston its largest lead at 123-91.

The teams put on an offensive clinic in the first half, combining for 26 points over the opening four minutes. But it didnā€™t take long for the Celtics to start coasting.

Boston jumped out to a six-point lead in that initial span and extended it throughout the first quarter. At the buzzer, it was a 39-24 game and the Celtics had shot 15-for-19 from the field.

The hosts hit 10 straight field goals and six from 3-point range to start before missing their first shot at the 4:05 mark. Tatum canned three of the teamā€™s six first-quarter threes, while Brown was 5-for-6 inside the arc and hit his only triple for a game-high 13 points.

In the second quarter, Pritchard hit a hook shot that gave Boston a 30-point lead with 5:54 left.

Utah ended the opening half with six straight points. Mitchell led the Jazz with 19 in the first half, shooting 7-for-13 from the field.

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