BOSTON -- Isaiah Thomas says he didn't take any ribbing from his teammates after scoring 52 points without registering a single assist last Friday night.

But just in case anyone was doubting Boston's Little Big Man's passing ability, he went out and dished out a career-high 15 assists and scored 29 points and led the Celtics to a 115-104 victory over the Utah Jazz Tuesday night.

"If they would've said something then I would've really tried to not score and get assists," Thomas said after the Celtics won a third straight home game for the first time this season. "But after the last game I was upset and they were like, 'you scored 52, who cares about your assists.' So I wasn't trippin when they wasn't trippin. I was good.

"But tonight I didn't really emphasize passing like that. It's just that's what the defense was giving me."

The win was Boston's first in 10 decisions over team currently with one of the top seven records in the NBA. It also was Boston's ninth straight home win over Utah and ended the Jazz's four-game winning streak.

Thomas, who said Monday he thought he deserved the Eastern Conference player of the month award that went to John Wall Tuesday, had five points and six assists in the third quarter and then hit a pair of 3-pointers, added two assists and hit four straight late free throws in the fourth. He heard chants of "M-V-P" while hitting his free throws.

He had only one late turnover in 35:24 and shot 10-for-18 from the field.

"He did it in all kinds of ways," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "The best plays that he made and most impactful were when he got to the rim and he'd go up and find people. He was finding people everywhere."

Said former Celtic Joe Johnson, who kept his team somewhat in the game with 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter: "He plays big. Despite his size. He's tough to guard, tough to contain. He makes tough shots."

The Celtics (21-14) wore the Jazz (22-14) out from the perimeter, going 17-for-31 from 3-point range, including 5-for-6 from Jae Crowder, who had 21 points, tied his career high in treys and was a plus-21. He was matched up with Gordon Hayward, who had 23 points but was a minus-20.

It was a strong performance for the home team, almost from start to finish.

"They're coming off of three games in four days, and a back-to-back, and we looked fresh," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "We haven't looked fresh in a while. And so, the two days off, I think, was a good thing."

Al Horford also scored 21 points, Avery Bradley, back after missing a game with illness, had 14 and rookie Jaylen Brown added 10 points for Boston.

In addition to their 3-point accuracy, the Celtics were 16-for-17 from the foul line. They also became only the 12th team ever (and first Celtics team) to hit 17 treys in back-to-back games -- and they did it against the team that was leading the league in both 3-point and overall defense. This was the most points the Jazz, who won in Brooklyn Monday, allowed all season.

"I know they're a good defensive team, so when I kind of attacked they showed more than one guy and my job was to just get the ball to the open guy and I tried to do that tonight," said Thomas, who has scored at least 20 points in all but one game this season and has done it 19 in a row, averaging 28.6 over that span.

Boris Diaw added 15 points off the bench for Utah. Rudy Gobert, who had 33 points and 29 rebounds in his 23rd and 24th double-doubles of the season the last two games, had 13 rebounds and eight points.

NOTES: Utah G George Hill missed his second straight game with a concussion and has played in only 12 games this season because of injuries. ... Boston G Marcus Smart was back after being hospitalized with a stomach bug that has run through the team, but C Tyler Zeller, also hospitalized Sunday, was home with a sinus infection. ... Utah coach Quin Snyder on Boston's Isaiah Thomas before the game: "I marvel at him ... He's like a fighter. If you drop your hands he's hitting you in the face." ... Utah C Rudy Gobert just finished a December where he shot .778 from the floor, the highest in the NBA for a month since Wilt Chamberlain shot .780 in March 1973. Gobert averaged 14.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots during the month. ... Jazz F Gordon Hayward and G Shelvin Mack both played for the Celtics coach Brad Stevens at Butler. ... The Jazz are in Toronto for the third of their five-game trip Thursday night, while the Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.