BSJ Game Report: Celtics 106, Raptors 104 - Celtics steal a win after losing Marcus Smart, Robert Williams

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out a little slow and fell behind by double digits in the first quarter, but Boston’s bench more than made up for it in the second quarter behind a huge stretch from Grant Williams. However, they lost Marcus Smart to an ankle injury and Robert Williams to a hyperextended knee when Jaylen Brown fell into him. The Raptors built another big lead in the third quarter, but the Celtics kept it close before turning it on in the fourth behind some hot 3-point shooting. The Raptors had one last run in them, but Al Horford made huge defensive plays to close it out and steal the win, their ninth straight.

Box Score 

HEADLINES

Next man up: Guys love to use the phrase “next man up mentality,” but it really applied in this game. The Celtics came in without Tatum and then lost three more guys at some point throughout the game, and they still managed to win. Granted, it’s against the Raptors, and they have had a few games slip away from them this season when they should have won. This is just another in the pile for them.

Bench comes up huge: The Celtics bench outscored Toronto’s 62-14. Grant Williams scored a regular season career-high 25 points, Malcolm Brogdon had 23, and Payton Pritchard hit for 12 on four 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter. 

Al Horford, defensive menace: How many huge defensive plays has this guy made over the past couple of games? He closed out the game by blocking Pascal Siakam leading to a jump ball, forcing a second jump ball off that, and then making the game-sealing steal when Siakam lost the ball in the final seconds. 

Avoiding disaster: Joe Mazzulla said that Robert Williams is feeling fine after Brown fell into his leg. Smart is day-to-day with a right ankle sprain. Derrick White seemed to knock knees at one point and left the game, but he’s also alright. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics opened the fourth quarter on a 20-8 run to go up 101-93. Pritchard was 3-3 from 3 in that stretch, Brown was 2-2, and Grant Williams added one of his own. Yes, the Raptors came back to tie the game, but this stretch gave the Celtics the pad they needed to withstand that run. 

SECOND GUESS

With the Celtics up 106-104, Gary Trent, Jr. smoked a layup with :21 on the clock. Grant Williams went down in a heap, but the Raptors kept pressuring the ball. The Celtics were down a man with possession of the ball but chose not to call timeout. ]Pritchard turned the ball over. That timeout had to be called. Luckily, Horford made those huge defensive plays to block Siakam and force two loose balls. 

“He saved my ass from not calling the timeout,” Joe Mazzulla admitted after the game. 

However, Mazzulla compounded the mistake after the second jump ball when, with 3.8 seconds left, he CALLED a timeout after Horford won the tip to Brown. Instead of giving his star player a chance to ice the game with two free throws (and the Raptors without timeouts), he put the Celtics in an inbounding position against a set Raptors defense, and Grant Williams committed an offensive foul that gave the Raptors the ball.

Again, luckily Horford was there to save Mazzulla again. 

FIVE UP

Jaylen Brown: I think he redeemed himself from a bad first half with much better play after the break and especially in the fourth quarter. He finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals, which is a great stat line. The Raptors also went on a 19-7 close to the second quarter right after he checked into the game because the ball movement that built that big lead stopped. 

Brown is a tremendous basketball player. He’s elite. He can be an All-NBA guy. But as I’ve said a bunch of times in this space, the more he chases it, the less he produces. When he decides it’s the Jaylen Brown show, he starts turning the ball over (he had 5 in this game, but only 1 in a spectacular fourth quarter). When he lets the game come to him, he can be everything he wants to be on the floor. He did that against New Orleans and he earned every bit of praise heaped on him. I hope he figures this out. 

Malcolm Brogdon: He was huge off the bench (and starting the second half). He finished with 50/60/100 shooting splits with just two turnovers. They needed his stability, especially after the injuries.

Grant Williams: A regular-season career-high 25 from Williams (he had 27 in the playoffs against Milwaukee) who was hitting everything, including a step-back 3 from the top of the key. He hit 4-6 from deep and had 3 offensive rebounds. He almost undid it all with his offensive foul at the end of the game. Add him to the list of guys who owe Horford after this game. I don’t think Horford should pay for any food or drink the rest of the trip.

Payton Pritchard: Not only did he play a massive role in the fourth quarter run with his shooting, he had a HUGE offensive rebound off a desperation shot by Horford to extend a Boston possession. The Celtics didn’t score, but Toronto got the rebound at the :33 mark, :43 seconds after they last touched the ball to cut the lead to 106-104. That's a big chunk of time to burn in a one-possession game. That cost the Raptors at least one or even two additional possessions to try to break through. It’s little things like that that make differences in winning these kinds of games that generally go unnoticed. 

Luke Kornet: I thought his defense to start the third quarter was big. He helped keep things from getting too far away from Boston. Again, it’s little stints like this in unheralded parts of the game that allow the later heroics to happen. If he’s not protecting the rim and the Celtics go down by a few more baskets, that game plays out much differently. 

ONE DOWN

Sam Hauser: A DNP-coach’s decision in a game without Tatum to start, without Smart and Robert Wiliams after halftime, and without White for the last 8:28. He didn’t even get in at the end to get fouled and go to the line for free throws. If he’s not going to get in this game, you have to wonder how long he’s going to be in the dog house. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Al Horford is a difference-maker

These past two games have shown exactly how much heart Horford has and how badly he wants to win a championship. 

“Al's what 37, 36, one of those, and he looks he's 25,” Smart said after the win over Golden State. “It's kind of hard for us to go out there and bring that energy when we see Al doing it at his age and the way that he goes about his business in this profession.”

When the Celtics need someone to make a play, Horford finds a way to be that guy a lot of the time. Between the big blocked shots and huge corner 3-pointers, Horford has found himself in a position to make a difference over and over and he produces at a high level. 

Him getting the steal, pointing his finger skyward in celebration, and running directly off the court and into the locker room was one of the best moments of the season. 

“The end of the game is winning time,” Horford said. “You have to make something happen, and Joe and I talked on the sideline. He just talked about like, ‘Hey, go win this game for us.’ I just had to find a way to make plays any way that I could. At that point, you’re just trying to win.”

Horford’s a winner. On a young team with championship hopes, it’s Horford that holds things together most of the time. 

Next up: The Celtics face the Orlando Magic Monday night on the front end of a back-to-back with the Miami Heat