Celtics 99, Jazz 90
Tayshaun Prince scored 19 points off the bench for his best effort since joining the team as visiting Boston jumped out early and held off Utah.
Tyler Zeller added 14 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role for the Celtics, who have won three of their last four on the road trip after going 24 straight games without a road win against a Western Conference team. Jared Sullinger collected 12 points and nine boards while Avery Bradley scored 12 for Boston.
Gordon Hayward led the way with 26 points and Enes Kanter added 20 as the Jazz fell for the sixth time in nine games. Trey Burke scored 13 of his 18 points off the bench in the fourth quarter and Derrick Favors chipped in 13 points for Utah.
The Celtics came out strong and Prince capped a 23-5 run with a 3-pointer to give them a 44-26 lead with 5:09 left in the half. Bradley added a 3-pointer and ended the half with a dunk to make it a 55-31 gap to the break.
The Jazz were a different team coming out of the locker room and quickly got back in the game as Hayward scored 10 points and Burke buried a 3-pointer to cap a 25-5 run beginning the period that cut the deficit to four before settling for a 71-66 deficit heading to the fourth. Boston scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 13 and held off a late rally led by Burke and Hayward.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston G Marcus Smart (personal) returned from a one-game absence and recorded nine points and five assists in 29 minutes off the bench. … The Celtics, who were playing their fourth game in five nights in four different states, finish up the six-game trip at Minnesota on Wednesday. … Utah starting PG Dante Exum went scoreless and had as many turnovers (two) as assists in 25 minutes.