20150126-BOSUTA

Marc D'Amico

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SALT LAKE CITY – This wasn’t supposed to happen.

The odds couldn’t have been much more stacked against the Boston Celtics on Monday night, save for playing against a juggernaut of an opponent.

They were instead playing against the sub-.500 Utah Jazz, but in a juggernaut of a game.

Boston just wrapped up a back-to-back Monday night in Utah.

It also just played its fourth game in five nights after traveling a total of 2,552 miles since Game 1 of the stretch came to an end.

Two of those four games just so happened to be played in the two highest-altitude cities in the league, and the other two were played against two of the NBA’s top three teams.

The Celtics also lost two key players during the stretch, Marcus Smart for one game and and Kelly Olynyk for the foreseeable future.

Daunting a list, you might say.  Enough to leave 13-year veteran Tayshaun Prince wondering if he had ever faced a more difficult stretch.

“It stacks up pretty tough,” Prince said of the road trip, quickly comparing it to others he had taken throughout his career.  “Whenever you play in Denver and in Utah on the second part of a back-to-back, those are tough games and tough atmospheres.”

Games that, according to Prince, even championship contenders struggle to win.

“I’ve been on some great ball clubs throughout my career,” he said, “and we come to Denver and Utah and we can’t get a win.”

They marched on into the Mile High City on Friday and played their tails off against the Nuggets, notching a 100-99 victory in the thin air of Denver.  Oh, and that just so happened to take place one night after the C’s notched another thrilling victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, who at the time owned the third-best record in the NBA.

Boston then moved on to Golden State, where it took on the top team in the NBA on Sunday.  The Warriors had won 18 straight home games by an average of 18.9 points per game.  They upped that streak to 19 with a win over the Celtics, but it didn’t come easily.

The C’s fought tooth-and-nail with the Warriors, down to the very last second of the game.  Golden State never led by more than 14 points and Boston nearly forced overtime before coming up three points shy, at 114-111.

We now know that Sunday’s slim and encouraging defeat is as low as Boston would fall during this four-games-in-five-nights stretch, because Monday night wasn’t even close.

The Celtics blasted the Jazz from the opening tip of this game.  They made it look easy as they cruised to a 24-point halftime lead, shooting 54.1 percent from the field over the first 24 minutes of the game.  Utah did make its run, as every team in the league does, but Boston thwarted the home team’s momentum and held on for a comfortable 99-90 victory.

Count ‘em up.  That’s a 3-1 record – an improbable 3-1 record – that was racked up during the most challenging four-game travel schedule an NBA team will face this season.

“That’s what makes this special,” said Prince, “to go through this with a young team and pull out some wins in this situation.”

Did you hear that?  Special.  That’s coming from a former NBA champion, a guy who has been to the Conference Finals seven times in his career.

He knows as well as anyone that this wasn’t supposed to happen.

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Celtics Accomplish "Special" Feat on the Road

Boston Celtics

RE: What Tayshaun Prince brings to the Celtics:

RE: Coming back after missing last night's game due to a death in the family:

RE: The message to his players at halftime:

RE: Responding to Boston's physical play:

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That's What He Said - Celtics at Jazz

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It would have been easy for the Boston Celtics to fold after their 24-point halftime lead was sliced down to four.

They didn’t fold.  Instead, they folded the Jazz.

Boston managed to stem the tide after Utah opened the third quarter on a 25-5 run.  The Jazz cut the C’s lead down to four at 60-56 with 3:48 remaining in the third before Boston cut off Utah’s momentum.

Tayshaun Prince, who was the best player on the floor Monday night, served as Boston’s calming factor during the most important stretch of the game.  The 13-year veteran nailed two free throws to make it 62-56 and then hit a running jumper to make it an eight-point game.

The Celtics and Jazz essentially went back and forth for the remainder of the quarter.  Boston scored 11 points over the final three and a half minutes, while Utah scored 10.

There is no doubt that Boston began to worry as the Jazz made their run.  There is also no doubt that the C’s zapped Utah’s momentum with their response and comfortably held on for a 99-90 win.

No one knew what Tayshaun Prince would bring to the Celtics when they acquired him earlier this month.  We’re beginning to see that the 13-year veteran has plenty left in the tank.

Prince was Boston’s leading scorer during Monday night’s 99-90 victory over the Utah Jazz.  He came off the bench to drop in 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, propelling the Celtics to a 16-point advantage during his 30 minutes of playing time.  Prince also dished out five assists on the night.

While his numbers undoubtedly stand out, Prince’s intangibles were most critical to Boston’s win.  He was the team’s calming factor throughout the night, making key play after key play.  Among those key plays were his steal and dish to Brandon Bass for a breakaway dunk that essentially clinched the game, putting the C’s on top 91-83 with 2:10 remaining.

Prince was an unknown in Boston just a couple of weeks ago.  Not anymore.  He is playing great basketball for the Celtics.

Marcus Smart on the challenge of returning to action tonight after having a family member pass last week.

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 99, Jazz 90

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Photos: Celtics vs. Jazz - Jan. 26, 2015

It's been nearly a year since the Utah Jazz have experienced three consecutive victories and even longer since they've won three in a row at home.

The Jazz will attempt to secure those win streaks Monday night against the likely short-handed Boston Celtics.

Utah (16-28) hasn't won three straight since Feb. 8-12 and hasn't taken three consecutive home games since a four-game run Dec. 27, 2013-Jan. 7, 2014. The Jazz are now in position to end those droughts after routing Brooklyn 108-73 on Saturday.

"We just take it one game at a time. Especially with how young we are, we might come out flat and do some of the stuff we've done in the past," said forward Gordon Hayward, who had a team-best 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting. "Hopefully we don't do that. We learn from this one, we grow from this one and we look forward to the next game."

Trey Burke had 15 of his 19 points in the second quarter while coming off the bench for the second consecutive game. He's totaled 29 points in those two contests after scoring a combined 10 on 5-of-25 shooting in his last two starts.

"It's new to me. I don't know if I was comfortable with it, but I knew I had to be ready to play," said Burke, who has started 109 of 113 games in his two seasons with the Jazz. "It's a different view of the game. ... You definitely get to see how the game's going and how you can affect it when you go in."

With Burke providing a spark off the bench, Utah is averaging 104.5 points on 49.3 percent shooting in the last two after averaging 80.5 points on 37.5 percent shooting in losing its previous two.

The Jazz could be facing a tired Celtics team after Boston was able to hang around with Golden State on Sunday before ultimately losing 114-111. The Celtics (15-27) are allowing an average of 107.7 points in the second half of back-to-backs.

This will be Utah's first meeting with the Celtics since a 110-98 victory on Feb. 24 snapped a six-game skid in the series. The Jazz haven't recorded back-to-back wins over Boston since the 2006-07 season.

Kelly Olynyk had 21 points in the last meeting for the Celtics but is expected to miss a third straight game because of a sprained right ankle. Olynyk, averaging 11.1 points in his second season, is not expected to return until after a season-high six-game trip ends Wednesday at Minnesota.

Boston is 2-2 on its trek and fell short of a season high-tying third consecutive win Sunday. Marcus Smart did not play against the Warriors because of a death in his family.

"We have to step up as a team and fill the void," forward Jae Crowder said. "All the guys on the bench have to be ready."

Utah's Derrick Favors scored 20 points in last season's home win over Boston, but is averaging 10.0 in the last three games, 6.2 fewer than in his first 37 contests. He had nine points against Brooklyn after missing Thursday's 101-99 victory in Milwaukee due to personal reasons.

20150126‑BOSUTA

Celtics Accomplish "Special" Feat on the Road

That's What He Said - Celtics at Jazz

Keys to the Game: Celtics 99, Jazz 90

Photos: Celtics vs. Jazz - Jan. 26, 2015

Game Preview: Celtics at Jazz