The Boston Celtics dominated the Toronto Raptors in a 125-71 win. After a low-scoring first half, the Celtics exploded for a 54-point victory. Jayson Tatum scored 23 points and Payton Pritchard had 19 off the bench. Toronto was shorthanded this game and played without RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick, and Immanuel Quickly. The Celtics were missing Kristaps Porzingis for the third consecutive game. The Raptors lost their 11th consecutive game and fell to 7-26. The Boston Celtics improved to 24-9 with the win.
A Slow First Half
The game got off to a slow start with neither team able to hit a shot. The Celtics and Raptors started a combined 0-of-10 from the field. It was so bad, the score was 3-2 nearly halfway through the first quarter. The offenses eventually got on track, with Derrick White heating up for Boston. The Celtics went on a 14-2 run after a rough start. Payton Pritchard also heated up, hitting a pair of three-pointers. The Raptors barely got any offensive momentum, scoring only 12 points. A floater from White put Boston up double digits, and at the end of the first quarter, the Boston Celtics led 23-12. White had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
The Raptors struggles continued in the second quarter. They were missing everything from three-pointers to open dunks. The Boston Celtics were not playing exceptionally well, but Toronto could not score a basket. They finally made their first three-pointer of the game after going 0-of-14. Despite the bad start, the Raptors were not out of this game. After a couple more three-pointers, Toronto brought the deficit to single digits. The Celtics played sloppily on offense and defense, allowing the Raptors to hang around. A deep three-pointer from Jrue Holiday gave the Boston Celtics a 45-35 lead at halftime.
Despite the lead, this was a first half to forget for the Boston Celtics. They shot 37.5% from the field and 32% from three. Jayson Tatum had another poor first half with 5 points on 2-of-7 shooting. Al Horford shot 0-of-6. With a team shooting as poorly as the Raptors were, the Celtics should have been blowing them out, but they were not. White and Pritchard were bright spots, scoring 12 points apiece in the half. For Toronto, the story of their first half was the bad shooting. They eventually got going in the second quarter and were lucky that Boston wasn’t playing much better. Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 8 points.
The Celtics Notch a Blowout Win
Tatum finally began to roll in the third quarter, and the Celtics maintained their lead. They started the second half 4-of-4 from three to extend their lead. Both teams shot better than they had in the first half, but Boston was shooting threes while the Raptors shot twos. This, along with Boston’s activity on defense, pushed their lead past 20 points. Everyone began to hit threes, and the Boston Celtics went on a 13-0 run. That 20-point lead soon became a 30-point lead, as Tatum, Pritchard, Hauser, White, and Holiday all made threes. The offense caught fire, and they scored 45 points in the third quarter after scoring 45 points in the first half.
Tatum scored 18 points in the third quarter alone, hitting four three-pointers. After a rough first half, the Boston Celtics offense exploded. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors continued to struggle. Boston outscored them 45-18 in the third quarter, creating a nearly insurmountable lead. Through three quarters, the Boston Celtics led 90-53.
The last time the Boston Celtics faced the Raptors, it went to overtime, but this game was nowhere close to that. By the fourth quarter, Boston put in their bench unit. In this stretch, Jordan Walsh was impressive for the Celtics scoring 7 points off the bench. Boston’s hot shooting gave them a large lead, but the Raptors shooting did not get much better. The Celtics were active on defense, holding the Raptors to 71 points, which is a season-low. The Boston Celtics won 125-71.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics improved to 24-9 with this blowout win. Tatum scored 23 points with 8 rebounds, while Pritchard scored 19 points off the bench. White had 16, and after missing a few games, Jrue Holiday scored 14 points. After a slow start, the Celtics won by 54 points.
This win is a huge boost for them after a rough stretch, and they got to rest their starters during the fourth quarter. Boston has a tough road trip coming up, so this win was much needed. The Toronto Raptors dropped to 7-26 with the loss, losing their 11th game in a row. Barnes led the team with 16 points.
