Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 118-102 win over the Raptors with BSJ insight and analysis
HEADLINES
Jaylen Brown leads dominant offensive performance by C's: The Celtics weren’t quite ready for a noontime start on Christmas Day after falling into a 10-0 hole two minutes into the matinee. The tide turned quickly from there however as the C’s rolled over the final 45 minutes to a 118-102 victory, Boston’s first win in Toronto since April 2015.
Jaylen Brown had one of the best games of his career in the victory, posting 30 points for the fifth time this season along with six rebounds. Kemba Walker chipped in with 22 points and 4 assists. The undermanned Raptors struggled to produce offense against the C’s without Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Norm Powell despite getting a team-high 27 points from Fred VanVleet. Chris Boucher also chipped in with 24 points off the bench but it wasn’t enough to compete with a red-hot Celtics’ offense that shot 42 percent from 3-point range and had six players finish in double figures.
Gordon Hayward looks like himself in return from sore foot: The veteran played limited minutes (26) in his first game back but did not miss a beat in terms of all-around production after being inserted back into the starting five. The 29-year-old had 14 points (6/9 FG), 5 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists, helping Boston's starting five make Toronto look overmatched at times without their key weapons. The short minutes and blowout win should be helpful in keeping Hayward on the floor for the rest of the week with a back-to-back looming on Friday and Saturday.
Four straight wins: The Celtics have won four straight games with the victory over Toronto and improved to 2-0 against the Raptors this season which should come in handy if tiebreakers arise in the postseason. Marcus Smart looks to be inching closer to a return as well after traveling with the team to Toronto and taking part in a pregame workout. Boston remains tied for the second seed in the East but appears poised to put some separation between themselves and the rest of the pack with a favorable stretch of games looming against sub .500 teams in January.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics bounced back from a 10-0 deficit in the opening two minutes of the game with an impressive 22-4 counterpunch over the next nine minutes of the frame. Boston’s offense was on point throughout with the starting five and the defensive intensity from the starting unit and reserves swung the momentum and prevented the Raptors from ever leading again.
TWO UP
Jaylen Brown in the third quarter: Just a sensational effort in the third period by the fourth-year forward gave the Celtics plenty of breathing room in this contest. He erupted for 16 of Boston’s 33 points in the frame and failed to miss a shot over the full 12 minutes from the field, knocking down all five field-goal attempts, including three from 3-point range.
Kemba Walker from 3-point range: The All-Star hit five of his ten attempts from beyond the arc, marking the fifth time this season he’s knocked down five 3-point attempts in a contest. He’s now shooting 41 percent from 3 on the years, a career-high.
TWO DOWN
Jayson Tatum’s shooting: On the heels of his career night on Sunday, Tatum struggled with his inside game on Christmas, knocking down just 5-of-18 field goal attempts, including 4-of-15 from inside the arc. He did manage to contribute in other ways (9 rebounds, 6 assists) but it was not his day on the offensive end.
Semi Ojeleye: The emergence of Romeo Langford has put Ojeleye on the back burner a little bit in the C’s rotation. He played just seven minutes today, a healthy some behind Langford’s 20 as the rookie provided more speed to guard Toronto’s shifty wings and guards.
TOP PLAY
WHAT A MOVE ❗️https://t.co/bpLxUrXFhj pic.twitter.com/UyzyWJL81X
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 25, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Enes Kanter is a nightmare matchup for the shorthanded Raptors: Toronto is trying to stay afloat without three key rotation players but they looked incredibly small on Wednesday without Marc Gasol available to battle Enes Kanter. Boston’s reserve center piled up 12 points and 11 rebounds in just eight minutes, paving the way for a 22-4 edge in second-chance points. While Kanter struggled at the rim at times, he still drew numerous loose ball fouls with his position on the glass and put the Raptors in a bind as they tried to scramble with some creative zones to mask their weaknesses. Kanter understandably has his flaws but his ability to match up well with Joel Embiid and cause headaches for other potential playoff opponents like Toronto are allowing him to gain more value on this roster by the day and make up for his defensive warts.
The Celtics depth chart suddenly looks imposing: It’s tough to take too much from this win given the state of Toronto’s personnel but there’s no denying how good the Celtics’ starting five looked together after a rough opening two minutes. With Langford emerging in the rotation and the pending return of Marcus Smart next week, it’s suddenly looking like Brad Stevens will have almost too many appealing bench options on a nightly basis. Semi Ojeleye was the odd man out of the rotation on Wednesday but Brad Wanamaker and Enes Kanter appear to be the only guys right now assured of regular consistent minutes once Smart comes back. After them? Whoever matches up best out of the Ojeleye/Langford/G Williams/Green contingent will get the nod and all four of those guys have had their moments lately. It will be a good problem for the coaching staff to have.