Final: Celtics 123, Raptors 116 (OT) -- Kyrie outduels Kawhi in thriller

We are about seven months away from the Eastern Conference Finals, but Friday night provided a pretty good taste of what's in store from the East's elite. Kyrie Irving (43 points, 10 assists) went toe-to-toe with Kawhi Leonard (31 points, 15 rebounds) but managed to outduel the All-Star power forward down the stretch on the way to a 123-116 overtime win.

Jayson Tatum added 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Gordon Hayward (15 points, 5 assists) played a season-high 39 minutes and made several crucial defensive plays down the stretch, which helped carry the C's back from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and force overtime after a stop on Leonard at the end of regulation.

The win pulls the C's within 2.5 games of the Raptors for the top seed in the East and evens the season series at 1-1. 

Second Half Notes

• Raptors open the half with a 8-2 run, which immediately sends Brad Steens searching for backup from his bench unit.


• Second unit eventually shows some fight towards the end of the third quarter to keep the C's within striking distance with the Hayward plus bench unit doing work again.


• Fourth quarter clutch Tatum with an appearance, putting together a terrific sequence with a couple of 3s and steals.


• Irving has been the guy that has kept the C's in the game though, pouring in jumper after jumper for 33 points through 33 minutes, going toe-to-toe with Kawhi Leonard (26 points, 14 rebounds) over the first 45 minutes.


• Hayward continuing to get some crunch time run over the bench unit and Brown.


• Jaylen Brown has not scored since the first quarter, missing seven straight shots which earned him a seat on the bench during crunch time.


• Irving vs. Leonard down the stretch becomes an absolute show, but a lack of creativity by Raptors coach Nick Nurse opens the door for overtime as he leans on an old school isolation that produces nothing.

• Stevens goes with a mix of Hayward/Brown and the bench unit (Rozier/Morris/Baynes) to help stretch out a double-digit lead at the start of the frame.


• Hayward making some nice decision making in the pick-and-roll ins transition, dishing and attacking in space quite well.


• C's push the lead up to 15 at one point before the Raptors start chipping away again with a 18-5 run of their own behind the stellar shooting of Leonard and Danny Green.


• Irving is taking good looks, but Tatum has missed a lot of wide open ones from the perimeter.


• Very well played game by both sides, with a playoff type atmosphere and intensity on the defensive end. Just trading blows on both sides.

• Jaylen Brown finding his aggressive rhythm early, carrying over his momentum from Wednesday night by scoring seven of Boston's first 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting.


• A couple early ugly shots by Lowry.


• Horford beaten for a 3 on a closeout by Ibaka but still showing nice rim protection with big stuff on him


• Clean basketball played by both sides early. Just one turnover in opening five minutes.


• C's jump out to a 16-4 run midway through the frame to erase a seven-point deficit behind the hot shooting of Brown (seven points) and Kyrie Irving (12 points). A lot of pop in Boston's step tonight as they are aggressive with their ball movement and tempo, producing high quality looks.


• Leonard and Ibaka (eight points each) have been problems early for Boston's defense but C's have done a nice job on closeouts (2-of-9 for Raptors)


• Kyrie's layups continue to amaze in the degree of difficulty that he puts them down with in traffic.


• Stevens goes with the bench plus Hayward unit to round out the quarter, which fares pretty well against a surprise 2-3 Raptors zone.


• A couple dumb early passes by Smart that resulted in turnovers, but he's been active trying to pick apart the zone.


• Toronto getting some early inconsistent play from their guards, including a couple wild shots from Fred Van Vleet.

• Marcus Morris will be back active with the Celtics after missing Wednesday's game due to illness.


• C.J. Miles and Norm Powell will both be out for the Raptors, giving them limited depth on the wing behind Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.


• The Raptors have dropped two straight games overall but still hold a 3.5 game lead over the Celtics for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.


• For more on the implications of the matchup, check out my preview column here from earlier this afternoon