Christmas has come early for Boston fans, as the Celtics were delivered an overwhelming victory, 112-96, in Toronto on Saturday night. Jaylen Brown might as well have been driving that sleigh, as the Celtics had
no need for their leading scorer to beat down the Raptors in their own arena. The Raptors begin their road trip after this brutal loss at home that demonstrates just how badly Toronto needs its starters to be competitive against the best teams in the East. The Raptors fell to fifth in the East tonight, a sharp plummet from their place in the top three.
The Celtics’ winning of the opening tip would set the tone for the game’s first quarter. Payton Pritchard exploded offensively early on, as Boston set good screens that the Raptors struggled to navigate around. Brandon Ingram and Sandro Mamukelashvili dropped in shots as well, starting their scoring early. Colin Murray-Boyles checked in as the sixth man and immediately took his signature role on the interior, dropping in a nice lay. His three pointer to bring the lead to 20-16 was the last score the Raptors would see in the quarter, as the Celtics shut out Toronto for four-and-a-half minutes as Luka Garza dropped in bucket after bucket. With a minute left in the first, Scottie Barnes picked up a monster block on Garza, but a Derrick White three-pointer would punctuate the end of the quarter, with the Raptors down 12. Barnes was quiet offensively throughout the first quarter, contributing rebounds alongside a number of missed shots.
Ingram and White traded three pointers early in the second, keeping the Celtics lead at 13. Mamukelashvili, thrust into the starting lineup tonight, continued to impress offensively with Poeltl out, spacing the floor and scoring on the interior to cut Boston’s lead to single-digits. Under the basket, Neemias Queta came down hard on Scottie Barnes, who made a basket before folding in half, clutching his face. The brutal and prolonged contact was assessed as a flagrant, sending Scottie to the line and keeping hold of the ball for the Raps.
Off a missed layup, Barnes got his own rebound and jammed it home with authority, bringing the game within a single possession. Ball movement looked fluid, with Jamal Shead conducting a high-tempo offence. Two free throws from Ochai Agbaji cut the lead to one again, as the Raptors began clawing their way out of the pit the Boston offence had dug. Off a size-up, Brandon Ingram kicked out to Immanuel Quickley, as the Kentucky Guard splashed home a three to make it Raptors’ lead at the end of the second. The Raptors had turned it around by halftime, with a score of 51-49.
Barnes came out hot off the break, dropping in a three to set the scene for the third quarter. While Payton Pritchard remained a tenacious presence on offence, the Raptors seemed to click on the attack, raining down threes like artillery shells on the Celtics. This assault allowed the Raptors to eke out a modest lead against the Celtics, which would be cut down bit-by-bit by Payton Pritchard. With Derrick White quiet to start this game, the go-to offensive role was adopted by Payton Pritchard, bouncing back from a series of rough games to have 27 points by the end of the third. His last bucket of the quarter was a fadeaway jumper to gain a one-possession lead for the Celtics, leading the Raptors to play from behind in the fourth.
A run starting with some Anfernee Simons jump shots was punctuated with a Derrick White three to bring the Celtics lead to double digits once more, 84-94. White turned things in the final quarter of the game, finally finding his shot and pouring buckets in for the Cs. Ingram and Barnes struggled mightily to prevent a total collapse, holding the line with less than half a quarter left. A Hugo Gonzalez steal followed by a coast-to-coast dunk added insult to injury, bringing the Celtics’ lead to 12 points with three minutes left. Immanuel Quickley’s missed three followed by a foul served to highlight his absence from the night’s box score. While his seven assists were much needed, going 1 for 12 in a game without RJ Barrett is no small factor in condemning the Raptors to tonight’s loss. The Raptors pulled their starters and allowed the game to pass naturally, with the final score at 96-112 for a Celtics victory.
“The game is about rebounding. They got 17 offensive rebounds, and 23 second-chance points,” said coach Darko Rajaković in the post game presser. Indeed: out-rebounded without Jakob Poeltl and outscored without RJ Barrett – all without facing Jaylen Brown – it is clear that the Raptors need their whole lineup healthy to be competitive, and that their status as a true competitor must be re-assessed going into the new year.
