Final: Raptors 118, Celtics 95 -- Toronto cruises to blowout win after big second quarter

TORONTO --In a game that was eerily reminiscent of Saturday’s performance in Chicago, the Celtics were completely blown out of the water in the second quarter for the second straight contest. Toronto outscored them 37-13 in the period behind the hot shooting of Kawhi Leonard (25 points), Pascal Siakam (21 points) and Norm Powell (11 points). The Celtics’ offense self-combusted yet again during the 12 minutes (26 percent shooting, eight turnovers) digging themselves a 21-point hole at halftime that they were unable to climb out of. Marcus Morris had a team-high 17 points, while Kyrie Irving (seven points) and Al Horford (six points) had their minutes cut short in the second half due to extended garbage time. It was one of the worst quarters and performances of the season for Boston as the C’s had their losing streak extended to three out of the All-Star Break.

First Half Notes

• Raptors continually attacking Tatum on the drive early on. (Lowry, Siajamm, Lowry backdoor)


• Nice aggression from Jaylen Brown off the bench attacking the Raptors starters in transition


• Pascal Siakam doing it all for the Raptors early on with 11 points in first eight minutes.


• Raptors continually getting great looks off the dribble penetration.


• Brad Stevens made the tweak in his rotation that I wrote about today, moving Marcus Smart to the bench as a first sub so he can stagger Kyrie and Smart all game long. It takes the ball out of Rozier’s hands which is a net positive for C’s from running the offense.


• More than half of the Raptors shot attempts over the first 18 minutes come from 3-point range


• Raptors pull together a 18-0 run midway through the quarter as Kyrie and Tatum rest. C’s miss a number of open 3s and layups, while Gasol/Powell wreak havoc from downtown.


• Stevens again a bit too slow to react to big runs, calling just one timeout in the midst of the outburst and failing to bringing back Kyrie/Tatum during the outburst.


• A bit of tension in the second quarter when Jaylen Brown foolishly picks up a third foul on a charge when he had a kickout option waiting in Smart.


• Raptors put the finishing touches on a stellar second quarter with a 36-13 outburst against the C's starters, putting together arguably the worst quarter of the year together for the C's with their play on both ends. They have now been outscored by a combined 41 points in their last two games in the second quarter.

• The Celtics have not won in Toronto since April 2015, giving them seven straight losses north of the border.


• This is the fourth and final game between the two Atlantic rivals this year, with the home team taking all three games so far. Boston leads the season series 2-1.


• Fred Van Vleet remains the only injury for the Raptors with new free agent addition Jeremy Lin getting minutes in his place.


• Al Horford is shooting 50 percent from the field in the month of February, averaging 15.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, the best splits of his season thus far.