Final: Celtics 95, Raptors 94

GAME: No. 14 of 82
WHO: Celtics (11-2) vs. Raptors (7-4)
WHEN:  3:30 EST
WHERE:  TD Garden
RADIO: 100.7 WZLX
TV: NBC Sports Boston
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM

Projected Starting Lineups:

Celtics
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

Inactive list:  Kyrie Irving (facial fracture) is out. Gordon Hayward (leg) is out.

Raptors:

PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Norm Powell
PF: Serge Ibaka
C: Jonas Valancunias 

Inactive list: None

THIRD QUARTER THOUGHTS 

• Some signs of offensive life to start the third quarter, largely sparked by Marcus Smart. The point guard drilled a pair of 3-pointers and dished out a couple assists to wake his team up a little bi.


• Aron Baynes continues to be a one-man wrecking crew for both his teammates and opponents. DeMar DeRozan was laboring heading into a timeout after taking a hard Baynes screen and then Serge Ibaka was down for several minutes after a jumpball in which Baynes dragged him to the ground.


• Al Horford remains perfect early in this game 6-of-6 from field, which has helped the C's stretch out a 20-6 run over the second and third quarters. C's should be trying to get him involved more.


• Raptors bench once again getting the best of the Celtics bench, quickly erasing a 8-point deficit with a sneaky run


• Probably the worst Marcus Morris game so far. He's not playing with a lot of energy and has been sloppy defending perimeter. Brad Stevens hasn't been happy with him on a couple of occassions.

• Raptors' bench went on a 6-0 run to start quarter, mostly due to more horrific offense from the C's as their shooting percentage dipped into the low 30s.


• Shane Larkin was 0-of-6 in eight minutes but it's hard to call his stint poor after this play

Shane Larkin GOT HEEEEMMM ? pic.twitter.com/OEOch5R5pC

— Hoops Provider (@HoopsProvider) November 12, 2017

• Celtics scored eight points in a 8:47 stint spread between two quarters. Just not a lot of ball movement right now and the C's aren't hitting the open shots they are getting.


• Jaylen Brown bricked another dunk. C's have to lead the league in missed dunks at this stage of the season.


• Potential game-changing 4-point play by Terry Rozier to close the quarter. Raptors had rolled off a 8-0 run to stretch the lead to nine before Rozier's pull up on Valancunias before the halftime buzzer was big.


• Marcus Smart has had his moments trying to dissect a savvy Raptors D but he's not getting much help from his shooters.


• Celtics bench was a combined 4-of-19 in the first half.

• Strong start for Jaylen Brown who came out of the gate hitting a pair of midrange jumpers. He went 4-of-7 in the quarter with a team-high eight points.


• C's strong 3-point defense is being put to the test early. Raptors have come out firing plenty from downtown, going 4-of-9 from distance in the opening minutes.


• DeRozan and Lowry combined for 21 of the Raptors' 24 points in the first quarter.


• Some nice work on the offensive glass by Boston (7 offensive boards) but they haven't been able to turn it into offense thus far (zero second chance points).


• Al Horford showing no ill effects of his concussion early. He's been actively offensively (6 points), including a nice spin move on Serge Ibaka.


• Lots of turnovers early for both sides. Six steals already for Boston, but they haven't been able to produce much offense due to 38 percent shooting.

• Raptors are 11-5 against the Celtics over the last three seasons.


• Celtics have won 11 straight games for the first time since the 2010-11 season.


• Kyrie Irving is expected to play through a facial fracture later this week after he's fitted for a mask, according to Shams Charania of the Vertical.


• The Celtics lead the NBA in defensive rating by three points after 12 games.


• Full pregame injury update on Irving here