BSJ Game Report: Celtics 116, Raptors 110 - Celtics wake up at halftime, ride big 3rd quarter to win

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Toronto Raptors with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Both teams went back and forth in a feel-out first quarter before the Raptors found some separation in the second quarter. The Celtics were frustrated by a lack of calls, but they hung around to go into the half down only 6. Jayson Tatum had a monster third quarter, Marcus Smart did Marcus Smart things, and Jaylen Brown had a spectacular fourth to get the lead up to 13. Toronto went on a late run to get it close, but the C’s were able to hold on.

HEADLINES

Offensive turnaround: The first half was messy. The Celtics looked disjointed, which was disappointing after the way their offense looked in their last two games. They came out of halftime a different team, though, out-scoring the Raptors by 12 after trailing by 6.

“We were just playing too slow, we was worried about the officiating too much, and we just wanted to change that,” Tatum said. “So we came out and started the third quarter with just a different boost of energy.”  

They shot 6-20 from 3 in the first half, mostly because they didn't come in any kind of flow. The second half saw them shoot 7-16. 

Resilience out of frustration: Like Tatum said, the officiating was in Boston’s heads early on, but I feel like this time around there was good reason to be upset with the officiating. It was certainly a bit unbalanced, but the Celtics were able to hang in there and chip away at a 10-point Raptors lead to hang around.  

Blake’s big game: We already did the big Blake Griffin story last week when he started in place of Al Horford, but here he was again, starting on the back-to-back and making a major contribution. He was a monster on the boards for Boston, and his tip-in in the closing seconds sealed the game.

TURNING POINT

The entire third quarter counts here because Boston outscored Toronto 35-18, but we’ll pick the actual turning point starting at 4:06 when Smart hit a wild 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run. Smart’s steal, dive, and seated kick ahead to Tatum was the highlight, even though it only resulted in a single free throw. Boston’s lead went from 3 to 13 and changed the entire dynamic of the game.

SIX UP

Jayson Tatum: 17 of his 31 points came in the fourth. He found a groove and flipped the game on its head, playing with good pace and aggression. He made 4 baskets at the rim, 2 3-pointers, and was 3-4 from the line. He also had 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Only 1 of his 4 turnovers came after halftime. 

Jaylen Brown: 22/8/8 nearly gave Brown a triple double. More impressively, he had zero turnovers. He didn’t shoot well, but his 8 points in the fourth were huge in helping keep the Raptors at arm’s length.

Marcus Smart: Diving on the floor, taking charges, playing great defense, and hot shooting … Smart did it all in this game. He finished with 18 points and 7 assists to go along with 2 steals and 3 rebounds. He’s now up to 36.5% shooting from 3, above league average. 

Blake Griffin: He clearly has something to give, and impressively, he’s able to do it after taking a few games off. Maybe the time off is why he’s able to muster up the energy to make these contributions. Either way, his rebounding was massive in keeping the Raptors off the boards and preventing a ton of second chance points that have killed Boston in games against Toronto. He finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds (3 offensive) 2 assists, and a steal. 

He also has the quote of the night: 

Luke Kornet: 11 points, 7 rebounds, and a block, and he was key in the fourth quarter stretch where the Celtics held off the Raptors. He set good picks, got to the right spots, and finished plays. Solid overall play. 

“Give a lot of credit to Blake, man. Blake played his ass off tonight,” Tatum said. “Luke came in and played tremendous for us. Super happy for those guys. Without them, we wouldn’t have won.” 

Sam Hauser: I really only want to make note of the defense he played in this game. He hit a couple of shots (a 3 and a nice reverse layup) but he held his own against Pascal Siakam a couple of times, drawing the Raptors into the kind of mismatch-hunting that has killed Boston in recent games. 

ONE DOWN

Fred VanVleet: Dipping out of the usual pattern because I’m not down on anyone’s performance, but I did have to make note of how poorly VanVleet played in this one. He is in a major funk right now, and his 3-14 shooting night cost Toronto dearly.

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Marcus Smart … All Star? 

Hear me out … 

The Celtics are the best team in the league. They have two guaranteed All-Stars in Tatum and Brown. No one will argue that. 

But can they get THREE? 

It’s a stretch, but the argument building for Smart is that not only is he the starting point guard on the best team in the league and a team putting up historically good numbers, he’s also currently 5th among East guards in assists (7.6), and he’s averaging fewer turnovers than any of those five players. He’s fourth in the conference in assist ratio with a higher usage rate than anyone above him. 

I’m not going to sit here and say he’s a lock for All Star. In fact, I know he probably won’t make it. 

BUT … but … his name should go into the pool. Maybe it will take an injury to get him in, but if Smart can continue playing the way he’s playing, I think he has a chance to make it. 

He has been so important to what Boston is doing. You can see that they missed him in Brooklyn. Smart has been, oh let’s just say less than popular in some corners of the Celtics fandom, but now that he’s finally in the right spot to do the things he does best, we can see his true value to this team. 

Yes, he’ll take an ill-advised shot from time to time. I get that. He’s not perfect. But man, this team isn’t the same without him right now. 

Next up: The Celtics head to Phoenix for a game Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m. against the Suns.