The Boston Celtics looked to shake off a few ugly losses in a row with their game in Toronto. Despite Jayson Tatum’s poor shooting night and the team’s 17 turnovers, the Celtics managed to put together one of their most well-rounded performances of the season with a 109-97 win over the Raptors.
The Celtics had five players score in double figures and each one of them scored at least 15 points. A pretty incredible stat considering the fact that Jayson Tatum was not one of those five players, scoring just eight points on 2-for-16 shooting. Tatum did, however, dish out a season-high 10 assists. On his off-shooting nights, he can still make winning plays elsewhere.
The Celtics also shot a near-perfect 29-for-31 from the free-throw line. Any team’s ability to get to the line at that rate and knock down nearly all of their free throws makes them a challenge to beat, even on a bad shooting night.
Marcus Smart put together the best performance for the C’s on the night, scoring 21 points, grabbing eight boards, and dishing out six dimes.
Grant Williams also deserves recognition for his vast improvement from the end of last season to now. He is currently the only player in the NBA posting 50/40/90 shooting splits through the first quarter of the season.
The Celtics return to action on Wednesday night against the 76ers and enter their toughest month of the season.
(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)