SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Paul Pierce continues to get the help he desires.
Eric Williams scored 19 points and Mike James added 18 as the Boston Celtics picked up their second road victory in as many nights with a 102-80 rout of the Utah Jazz.
Pierce blasted his team for relying too much on him after a loss to Memphis on December 1 and Boston proceeded to lose its next two games. But the Celtics have been rejuvenated on this short two-game road trip, getting solid complementary efforts from Williams and Jiri Welsch in Sunday's win at Denver before another strong team effort against the Jazz.
"We've got two in a row and that's great, that's a mini-streak," Pierce said. "I think people are starting to get used to the patterns of this offense and we know if we pass the ball and keep turnovers down, we'll win games."
While Pierce made just 5-of-15 shots for 14 points, his teammates picked up the slack. Williams made 6-of-9 shots and James handed out nine assists as Boston shot 51 percent (38-of-74).
Williams scored 10 points in a 19-4 tear in the second quarter that opened a 43-24 advantage with just under five minutes left in the half.
"We know teams are going to focus on Paul Pierce, he's an All-Star," Williams said. "But Paul's got other players on the court and he finds them, too. It's only going to make it easier for him and take some pressure off him."
Boston won for only the second time in 11 games at the Delta Center.
The Jazz turned in a terrible second quarter, managing only five baskets as they were outscored, 29-15. Point guard Raul Lopez also left the game with a twisted ankle, although he returned in the second half.
Utah, which had a five-game home winning streak snapped, had not lost by double figures since a 127-102 setback at Dallas in the second game of the season. It displayed little of the unselfishness that has helped it become one of the league's biggest surprises after losing John Stockton and Karl Malone.
"I hate to say this, but we got very selfish," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We had seven assists at halftime, whoever got the ball first seemed to shoot and they got right up in our face and challenged us on every shot we took."
The Celtics continued to expand on a 51-34 halftime advantage throughout the second half. Kedrick Brown's 3-pointer with 5:37 to go gave Boston its biggest lead, 95-62.
"We had not gone into halftime with a big lead and then extended it in the second half," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "But we did tonight - we extended the lead."
Utah finished with 20 turnovers that resulted in 27 points for Boston. The Jazz lost for the first time in four games against Eastern Conference foes.
