NBA Hoops

Boston visits Utah, aims for 50th victory of season

Toronto faces New Orleans, looks for 6th straight road win

Boston Celtics (49-22, second in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (33-36, 11th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Saturday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Boston will try to earn its 50th win this season when the Celtics play the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz have gone 20-13 at home. Utah ranks sixth in the league averaging 13.8 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 35.8% from deep. Lauri Markkanen leads the team averaging 3.0 makes while shooting 40.3% from 3-point range.

The Celtics are 23-13 in road games. Boston is second in the Eastern Conference with 35.5 defensive rebounds per game led by Jayson Tatum averaging 7.9.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jordan Clarkson is shooting 44.4% and averaging 20.8 points for the Jazz. Markkanen is averaging 23.3 points over the last 10 games for Utah.

Tatum is scoring 30.2 points per game and averaging 9.0 rebounds for the Celtics. Al Horford is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Boston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 4-6, averaging 114.6 points, 51.1 rebounds, 25.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 8.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.3 points per game.

Celtics: 5-5, averaging 114.7 points, 45.1 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 7.2 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.9 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Collin Sexton: out (hamstring), Jordan Clarkson: day to day (hand).

Celtics: Malcolm Brogdon: out (achilles), Payton Pritchard: out (heel), Robert Williams III: out (hamstring), Danilo Gallinari: out (knee).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at AP NBA…