1. Incredible Comeback
At the 5:24 mark of the second quarter, the Boston Celtics were down 22 points to the Toronto Raptors and this looked like it was going to be a long night. The Celtics had every excuse to just roll over and die after going down big. It was the last game of a four-game road trip, the second half of a back-to-back where the first game was an emotionally draining battle against the Philadelphia 76ers, and Paul George was ruled out with an illness.
The Celtics could have chalked this game up as a loss
but decided to fight, going on a ridiculous 34-8 run from the 5:10 mark of the second quarter to the 3:43 mark of the third quarter. This is the second biggest comeback in the Joe Mazzulla Era of the Celtics, with the only bigger one being a 26-point comeback against the 76ers on February 2nd last year.
This was some incredible determination by Boston and a big win going into a three-day break. Boston is now 10-2 for the first time since the 2024 season when they won the championship. Ironically, the 10th win of that season was also on the road against the Toronto Raptors.
2. Jayson Tatum Ignited The Fight
The biggest reason why the Boston Celtics were able to get back into this game was because of an incredible performance by Jayson Tatum. If you look at the box score and see Tatum finished shooting 6-21 from the field and 2-11 from three, you might think it was a bad game. However, it was the 24 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks as a +9 that spoke the loudest and they were the difference maker in this game.
The second quarter was the biggest impact made on the team, finishing with 11 points that all came on a personal 11-0 run. It was at this point where he single handedly told the team that they were not going to roll over.
Tatum came back into the game at the 7:28 mark of the second quarter when Boston was down 50-35. He started his run two minutes later with a three, 2 free throws and a monster slam to force Toronto into a timeout. That didn’t stop Tatum, as he hit an and-1 three with a flagrant foul free throw and then found Baylor Scheierman for a three that capped off a ridiculous 7-point possession.
This run of play was followed by an ice cold stretch of 8 straight misses for Tatum, including an 0-5 third quarter, but his presence on the court kept Boston in the game. When it was clutch time in the fourth quarter however, Tatum did what he did best, hitting a huge mid range jumper over RJ Barrett to give the Celtics a one point lead with 1:55 to go.
This was not necessarily the best game that Tatum has ever played, saying postgame, “I played like sh*t all game, especially in the second half. So I just kind of wanted to do my part.” But a win is a win, and Boston wouldn’t have made this comeback without the impressive play of Jayson Tatum.
3. Raptors Magnet Ball Cooled Off
The biggest reason why the Toronto Raptors were able to get out to a 22-point lead so quickly was the fact they started the game on fire from beyond the arc. In the first quarter, they shot 10-18 from three, tying a franchise record for threes to open up a game. By the 9:39 mark of the second quarter, Toronto hit their 12th three of the game and started to pull away. However, this would be the last three Toronto would hit until the 2:53 mark of the third quarter. The Raptors missed 11 straight threes in this time and finished the game shooting 16-43 (37.2%).
This is why the comeback Boston made was so incredible. They saw Toronto got off to a blistering start and didn’t blink in the face of adversity.
4. Neemias Queta Heroic Performance
Neemias Queta, for the second year in a row, is one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA. On the season he is now averaging 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds on 55.6% shooting from the field and 75% from three-point range. In this game, he finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 2-4 shooting and a team high +27. It’s crazy to think that a guy is +27 in 31 minutes in a game where the Celtics were down by 22 points at one point, but that’s how good Queta was.
With under a minute to go in the fourth quarter, Queta made up for a turnover on the play before with a dunk to cut the Celtics deficit to 1. After Tatum hit two free throws, Queta played some incredible defense on RJ Barrett who went up for a layup, deterring the shot and hitting two clutch free throws to give the Celtics a 3-point lead. He picked up another block at the final buzzer, capping off one of the best wins of the Celtics season. Queta has continued to impress for the Celtics this season and is creeping his way up the ladder of the best centers in the NBA.
5. Best Derrick White Game of the Season
Entering this game, Derrick White was having a similar season to last year where the defense was elite but the three-point shooting wasn’t there, only shooting 32.1% from beyond the arc. However, White played arguably the best game of his season against the Raptors, finishing with 19 points, 7 assists, and 4 blocks while shooting 7-15 from the field, 3-7 from three, and finishing as a +18 on the night.
The biggest difference between White’s performance in this game versus the rest of the season was the fact that he looked incredibly confident in his shot again. White had 10 of his points in the second half including 7 points in the third quarter and a big three in the fourth quarter that kept the Celtics in the game while Tatum was on the bench.
White’s defense was just as impressive. Entering this game, he had 5 blocks on the season as a whole and almost matched that total in one game. It was incredible seeing him show flashes of his Celtics prime again and I hope this can start a stretch of games where White can shoot the ball with confidence. Boston is already an elite offense but if they can get White shooting it at an elite clip again, it’s going to be scary for the league.
6. Boston Block Party
One of the best parts about the Celtics comeback in this game was the incredible defense Boston played in this game. The Celtics were incredible when it came to protecting the paint, finishing the game with an insane 10 blocks as a team. White had 4, Queta had 3, Tatum had 2, and Scheierman had 1 but this was a testament to how great the Celtics were at not allowing the Raptors to get to the basket. Inside the painted area, Toronto shot 13-34 (38.2%) while at the basket specifically they shot 8-19 (42.1%). When Toronto stopped shooting like the best team of all time, the paint protection allowed Boston to get back into the game and eventually take the win.
7. Non-Tatum Minute Adventures
The last time the Celtics played a game without Paul George was when they lost to the Houston Rockets on November 2nd. That game was also on the back end of a back-to-back and one of the biggest reasons they lost that game was the fact Boston wasn’t able to compete in the minutes when Tatum was on the bench. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White had poor games and with George out, the game got completely out of hand at the start of the fourth quarter, leading to Boston’s loss.
In this matchup against the Raptors however, it was a different story. In the minutes when Tatum was on the bench to begin the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from three. They were able to outscore Toronto in these minutes but it wasn’t all perfect, as they turned the ball over 4 times leading to some wide open shots that the Raptors just didn’t knock down. It wasn’t a perfect showing from the bench by any means, however I thought they looked a lot more comfortable than they did in Houston. I would still like to see Pritchard and White take over a little more in these scenarios, but it was a fine showing.
8. Baylor Scheierman Game Changer
Another guy that doesn’t get talked about enough for the Celtics is Baylor Scheierman. He got the start in this game and played pretty well, finishing with 11 points and 5 rebounds on 4-9 shooting from the field and 3-6 shooting from three. One thing he does that is different from the rest of the young group of wings the Celtics have is that he is a legitimate threat on the offensive side of the ball alongside his good defense.
This was seen in the Celtics second quarter run after Jayson Tatum drew a flagrant foul. Tatum received the ball on the inbounds pass on the block and found Scheierman on a cross-court pass for a no-dip three. Derrick White then got a steal, leading to a fast break where Tatum threw a behind the back pass to Scheierman who then found a cutting White for the layup. This one sequence shows why Scheierman is so important to Boston. I honestly think he should continue running with lineups alongside Jayson Tatum since Boston has a net rating of +12.2 when the two of them share the court. Scheierman’s contributions might not show up in the final box score, but he has a feel for the game that is unmatched and I can’t wait to see how he performs if given more minutes to show it.
9. Sam Hauser Came Up Clutch
Although Queta and Tatum had the big plays to end the game for the Celtics, one play that shouldn’t get overlooked is the steal by Sam Hauser that gave Boston a chance to put the game out of reach. In a 96-93 game with 15.1 seconds to go, the Raptors threw an inbound pass across the court. Much like a defensive back, Hauser anticipated this pass from the jump, intercepting it and getting fouled, leading to him shooting and making his first two free throws of the season.
Hauser’s impact on this game was big, finishing with 8 points and grabbing 9 rebounds alongside 2 steals. He was fighting on the boards with 3 offensive rebounds that gave the Celtics second chances on offense. I wanted to highlight this play because I feel like it will get lost in the shuffle and it is almost a highlight on Hauser’s role with the Celtics this season. Sam Hauser has continued to be the steady hand for the Boston Celtics off the bench this season and has looked a lot better than last season when he had a noticeable back injury.
10. NBA Schedule Rant
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to the NBA is the fact that the schedule makers try their hardest to make the least sense possible. I’m not sure if they had ChatGPT make the schedule this year or something, but it has been awful.
The Celtics are coming off playing one of the most highly anticipated games of the season against the 76ers in Philadelphia. Not only should that game have been in Boston, but what is the reasoning for scheduling a game in Toronto right after? The worst part is, after this game, the Celtics don’t play again until Sunday night against the Dallas Mavericks. It doesn’t end there; after the Mavericks game, they play ANOTHER back-to-back against the Magic on Monday.
What is the point of playing a back-to-back and then getting three days off just to play another back-to-back? Why do we have to miss out on a weekend of Celtics basketball? The NBA is wondering why they have so many injuries and then schedule games like this. What are we doing here?
