The Boston Celtics were victorious against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night by a final score of 132-125. This game was a high scoring affair, but tightly contested throughout the entire duration. The Celtics would secure the victory by hitting big time shots and getting key stops late in the fourth quarter.
Celtics:
For the Celtics this game was not the cleanest games in terms of defense, allowing the raptors to knock down 21 threes. But the Celtics most notably got it done on the offensive end. The Celtics shot a very strong 60% from the field and 44% from beyond the arch.
This game was also highlighted by great performances by the Celtics 1-2 punch Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as Tatum finished with 27 points on 9-15 shooting and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown finished with 15 points although a rough 4-11 shooting.
As for scoring it was a well balanced scoring attack as a total of eight Celtics score in double figures. Leading the way in scoring for the Celtics was Jayson Tatum. Tatum had 27 points on 9-15 shooting, while adding 12 rebounds. Also scoring for the Celtics was Kemba Walker with 15 points on a rough 4-11 shooting, with 6 assists. Tristan Thompson continuing to impress Celtics fans with another Stellar performance with 13 points on 6-8 shooting.
For the bench Grant williams stepped up in a huge role, adding 17 points, on 7-9 shooting. Rob williams continues to be a human highlight real as he added 10 points and 4-5 shooting, and 7 rebounds.
This was a great win for the Celtics, as they capture their fourth consecutive win and improve to 19-17 and now are in sole possession of the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, Heading into the All Star break.
Raptors:
As for the Raptors despite missing their entire front court due to COVID protocols, they came out with fire and energy. Although the Raptors would start to cool off from behind the arch, letting the Celtics crawl back.
The Raptors shot the ball really well, shooting 21-39 from behind the arch. The Raptors scored effectively in this game by breaking down the Celtics defense with great ball movement. Having a total of 36 assist as a team, Kyle Lowry had a career high 19 assists.
As for scoring the Raptors had six players score in double figures. Leading the Raptors was Chris Boucher with 30 points and 5-9 from behind the arch from the bench. Also scoring was Terrance Davis with 22 points on 8-14 shooting. while Norman Powell added 25 points on a rough 7-17 shooting. and Kyle Lowry finished with 14 points, and a career high 19 assist. As for the Raptors on the shooting front, They shot 49% from the field and 42% from behind the arch. The Raptors were rolling to start this game which was expected after a terrible loss to the last place Detroit Pistons. Despite playing hard, The Celtics high powered offense was to much to handle as the Raptors drop to a disappointing 17-19 on the season.
After the All Star Break the Celtics head back on the road as they will face up against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night at 7:30pm.