Boston Celtics (14-9) at Toronto Raptors (15-9)
Sunday, December 7, 2025
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #24, Road Game #12
TV: NBCSB, Sportsnet, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, TSN Radio 1050, Sirius XM
Scotiabank Arena
The Celtics travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors for the first of 4 games this season. They will meet again in Toronto on December 20. They will meet twice in Boston on January 9 and April 5. They faced off twice in the preseason with the Celtics winning 110-108 in Boston and the Raptors winning 107-105
in Toronto.
The Celtics won the series 3-1 last season with the one loss coming in Toronto . The Celtics are 73-43 overall all time against the Raptors and they are 29-29 in games taking place in Toronto. Both teams played on Friday and both teams were off on Saturday. Friday’s game for the Celtics was their 5th game in 7 days. This game is Toronto’s 5th game in 7 days.
The Raptors didn’t make a lot of changes in the off season. They re-signed Jakob Poeltl and Garrett Temple. They drafted Collin Murray-Boyles with the 9th pick in the draft and they drafted Alijah Martin with the 39th pick in the draft and signed him to a 2-way contract. Chris Boucher left the Raptors for the Celtics in free agency. Toronto signed Sando Mamukelashvili as a free agent.
The Celtics are 5th in the East, tied with 4th place Orlando and 6th place Miami, 8th place Cleveland and 9th place Atlanta. They are half a game behind 3th place Toronto. They are half a game ahead of 7th place Philadelphia and 8th place Cleveland. The Celtics are 6-5 on the road. They are 10-6 against Eastern Conference opponents and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 4 games.
The Raptors are 3rd in the East, 1 game behind 2nd place New York and 3.5 games behind first place Detroit. They are half a game ahead of 4th place Orlando, 5th place Boston and 6th place Miami. They are 1 game ahead of 7th place Milwaukee and 8th place Cleveland. The Raptors are 8-4 at home. Theya re 13-5 against Eastern Conference opponents and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have lost their last 2 games.
After this game on the road against the Raptors, the Celtics then play at Milwaukee and then at home against the Pistons. Those 2 games were added to the schedule after the Celtics failed to qualify for the NBA Cup. After the Cup games, they host Miami, play at Toronto, host Indiana and then head out on a 5 game road trip through Indiana, Portland, Utah, Sacramento and the LA Clippers.
This is the 4th game of a 5 game home stand for the Raptors. They hosted Portland, the Lakers and Charlotte before hosting the Celtics. They will host the Knicks on Tuesday for the first game of the knock out rounds of the NBA Cup. If they win that game, they will play either Miami or Orlando. After the tournament, they will play at Milwaukee and then host Boston once again.
This will be Chris Boucher’s first regular season game back in Toronto after playing there for 7 seasons. He is the all time franchise leader in points, rebounds, blocks, minutes and games played off the bench. He also had 23 starts for them. The Celtics did play one game in Toronto in the preseason but this is his first regular season game back there. Hopefully he will get a good reception there.
As of now, Jayson Tatum is the only player on the Celtics injury report as he rehabs from the torn Achilles. For the Raptors, RJ Barrett hasn’t played since Nov. 23 after injuring his knee and is out for this game. Ja’Kobe Walter will likely start in his place. Jamison Battle is doubtful after injuring his ankle in Friday’s game. Immanuel Quickley (illness) is questionable and will be a game time decision.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Immanuel Quickley
SG: Payton Pritchard vs Ja’Kobe Walter
SF: Jaylen Brown vs Brandon Ingram
PF: Jordan Walsh vs Scottie Barnes
C: Neemias Queta vs Jakob Poeltl
Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Raptors Reserves
Gradey Dick
Sando Mamukelashvili
Jonathan Mogbo
Jamal Shead
Garrett Temple
Two-Way Players
Chucky Hepburn
AJ Lawson
Alijah Martin
Injuries/Out
RJ Barrett (knee) out
Jamison Battle (ankle) doubtful
Immanuel Quickley (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic
Key Matchups
Jaylen Brown vs Brandon Ingram
Ingram is averaging 20.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He is shooting 46.2% from the field and 30.2% from beyond the arc. This is a matchup of the 2nd (Ingram) and 3rd (Brown) picks of the 2016 draft and should be a good one.
Jordan Walsh vs Scottie Barnes
Barnes is averaging 20.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. He is shooting 51.0% from the field and 40.2% from beyond the arc. He is playing the best basketball of his career and is a threat to score in the paint and on the perimeter. Jordan Walsh will have a good test of his defense in this matchup.
Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Immanuel Quickley
Quickley is averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 47.1% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc. He is a good 3 point shooter and so will need to be defended well on the perimeter. As of Saturday night, he is questionable for this game due to an illness and will be a game time decision.
Defense – Defense is the most important key to winning. The Celtics are 17th in the league with a defensive rating of 114.7. The Raptors are 8th with a defensive rating of 112.2. The Celtics have played good defense off and on in recent games but they still are not consistent on that end. They must stay committed to playing tough, lock down defense, especially against a Raptors team that plays very good defense themselves. The Celtics must especially defend in the paint as the Raptors are 7th in the league with 53.7 points in the paint per game.
Rebound – As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning every game. The Celtics are 17th with 44.2 rebounds per game. The Raptors are 23rd with 42.7 rebounds per game. The Celtics will need to rebound as a team with players crashing the boards from every position. The Celtics can’t score without the ball and rebounding is a great way to get the ball and to get extra possessions and to also deny the Raptors extra possessions.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics are at their best when the ball moves and they make the extra pass. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. The Celtics had 35 assists in their 45 point win over the Wizards. They had 31 assists in their 21 point win over the Lakers. They are 10-1 this season when they have 25 or more assists. But they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy because the Raptors average 19.3 points off turnovers.
Play with Energy and Focus – The Celtics must play with effort and energy and they have to play harder than the Raptors. The team that plays the hardest and with more energy will usually get the win. They also must stay focused on taking good shots and making them. If the 3’s are falling, they are tough to beat. But, if the 3’s aren’t falling, it can get ugly and so the Celtics need to focus on taking the best shots, whether that means shooting more 3’s or taking the ball into the paint if they aren’t falling.
X-Factors
On the Road and Fatigue – The Celtics are on the road and have to deal with the distractions of travel and going through customs along with playing on an unfamiliar court (except for Chris Boucher) and in front of hostile fans. They are also playing in the 6th game in 9 nights while the Raptors are playing in the 5th game in 7 nights, although they didn’t have to deal with travel. Fatigue may come into play down the stretch.
Officiating – The officiating can always be an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight with a lot of fouls while others let them play and let a lot of contact go. The Celtics have to adapt to how the game is being called and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away their focus on playing the game.
