Before the Celtics took off for their longest road trip of the season, they stressed a sense of urgency. They knew they weren’t playing up to their standards, and they recognized the importance of correcting their inconsistencies with the playoffs coming soon.
“For us, being able to know that we don’t have any games left in the regular season, that we need to come together, and we need to start acting like this is it for us and every game matters and get into that rhythm,” Marcus Smart said before the trip.
The six-game journey wasn’t perfect. They dropped a game to the Rockets, the worst team in the Western Conference. Bad habits haunted them in a brutal loss to the Jazz. But on Tuesday, they finished the stretch with a much-needed statement. Against one of the hottest teams in the league, the Celtics picked a good time for their best all-around performance since the All-Star break with a dominant 132-109 victory over the Kings.
