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The Celtics emphasized a feeling of urgency prior to departing on their longest road trip of the year. They were aware that their performance fell short of their expectations and that improving it was crucial with the playoffs just around the corner.

Before the trip, Marcus Smart said “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,” .

The six-game trip wasn’t flawless. The Rockets, the worst team in the Western Conference, defeated them in a game. After a crushing defeat to the Jazz, bad habits followed them around. But on Tuesday, they made a much-needed statement to end the run. With a commanding 132-109 victory over the Kings, the Celtics timed their greatest all-around effort since the All-Star break well against one of the league’s hottest teams.

The Celtics picked up their 50th victory of the season and finished a 4-2 road trip strongly. It was just one game, and they still need to prove they can do this regularly, but it was undoubtedly a promising sign.

After the victory, Jaylen Brown told NBC Sports Boston, “It looked like the squad I recognized.” “We started the game, played for 48 minutes, and never let up. We took care of the matter. ended the journey successfully. Return home and take care of your business once more.

“Very significant. On this trip, we dropped a few games that we definitely shouldn’t have. We wanted to enter this game and leave with a small statement since the Sacramento Kings have been playing well.

The Celtics dominated offensively with 32 assists on 53.3% shooting and slowed down the Kings’ electrifying offense, which is on a historic pace this season. Jayson Tatum rebounded from a difficult night in Utah with 36 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points, and Derrick White added 20 points and 11 assists. The Celtics also seemed to be revived by Robert Williams’ return, who played 21 minutes off the bench.

As they attempt to gain momentum going into the last nine regular-season games, the Celtics pulled one game ahead of the 76ers for second place in the Eastern Conference.