Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 113-97 loss to the Raptors with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Raptors get revenge: The Celtics had their rotation back at full strength for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday night, but it didn’t matter against an undermanned Raptors team hungry for revenge after being blown out on Christmas Day. Kyle Lowry put on a show with 30 points and 7 assists while Serge Ibaka added 20 points and 10 rebounds, helping the visitors cruise to a double-digit victory over the Celtics at the TD Garden.
The hosts had their five-game winning streak snapped as Marcus Smart made a rusty return to the floor (7 points on 2-of-9 FG) after an eight-game absence due to an eye infection. Kemba Walker had a team-high 30 points in the setback but the C’s offense struggled for much of the night, shooting just 40 percent from the field and 22.6 percent from 3-point range at the end of a set that had three games in four nights.
The Celtics now have two days off before heading to Charlotte for a New Year’s eve matinee.
Defensive leaks surface: Despite getting one of the best defenders in the league back on Saturday night for a critical matchup, Boston put together arguably their worst home defensive performance of the year. The Raptors jumped all over Boston with a 36-point first quarter despite missing three key rotation pieces in Norm Powell, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol. Boston allowed 52 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range, giving up countless easy buckets in transition and beyond the arc that produced their biggest margin of defeat all year long.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics were playing catchup from jump street after a 36-point first quarter from the Raptors but they managed to get within striking distance twice in the second half, closing within five points with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Toronto responded with a 9-1 run to push the lead back to double digits early in the fourth quarter, putting the visitors in control for good.
TWO UP
Kemba Walker: His game-high 30 points marked the seventh time this season’s he’s reached the 30-point mark, including the third time in December alone. He was also an efficient 11-of-23 from the field.
Enes Kanter on offense: The center struggled mightily defending the pick-and-roll but scored 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, giving him three consecutive games with at least 10 points. He’s shooting 68 percent from the field over his last three games.
TWO DOWN
Transition defense: The Raptors were pushing the ball off of makes and misses through the first half and caught Boston’s defense scrambling on numerous occasions, which led to easy buckets.
Celtics 3-point shooting: No one had a good rhythm going from beyond the arc as the C’s shot a paltry 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) from downtown. Gordon Hayward (1-of-7) was the biggest culprit as no one besides Walker made more than one 3-point attempt.
TOP PLAY
Tatum ? Theis ? pic.twitter.com/uEj3FvCfd8
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 29, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The Raptors wanted this one more and are going to be a tough out this postseason: This game had a playoff-level from the jump after the Raptors were embarrassed on their home floor on Christmas. Despite being down three key rotation pieces again, Toronto played harder and got physical with the Celtics, taking advantage of some fresh legs and added urgency after going 0-2 against Boston so far this season. The Celtics were not up to the task tonight but the grittiness of this Raptors squad makes them a challenging matchup no matter the circumstances when they are rested and have a full set of bodies. They may be shallow when it comes to depth but everyone in their starting five is playoff-tested and there are a bunch of role guys on the bench that show tenacity and plenty of athleticism. Getting the No. 2 seed is going to be an important race for the Celtics if only to eliminate the possibility of getting into a first-round slugfest with this group somewhere in the 3-6 mix. Due to their injuries now, that’s likely where the defending champs will find themselves, ready to battle.
Enes Kanter’s pick-and-roll coverage provides a problem in this matchup: The Raptors have a pair of elite pullup 3-point shooters in Lowry and Van Vleet, who combined for 9-of-19 shooting from 3-point range on Saturday night. The duo did score more than half of their 48 points on the night from beyond the arc and a big part of that came while attacking Kanter in his 17 minutes on the floor. The center simply has no shot corralling either guy in the pick-and-roll, laying back in the paint which opens the door for open looks for both whenever Ibaka sets a good screen. This was a big part of why Kanter’s minutes were down tonight despite some big production. Brad Stevens is a defense-first guy and he knows Kanter is an easy target for a Raptors team with this type of shooting and ball handling. With Daniel Theis struggling on the glass and Grant Williams making some rookie mistakes there was no good answer for the C’s in the middle all night, which is going to be problematic for this C’s team particularly since the Raptors were down two key bigs tonight anyway in Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam.