BSJ Game Report: Celtics 117, Raptors 94 - All business in blowout of Toronto

Everything you need to know about the Celtics blowout of the Toronto Raptors, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

Things started a little slow but the Celtics actually ended up with an efficient first quarter (60% shooting) thanks to Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. They went on a 19-2 run spanning both quarters but went cold after the lead hit 14. Toronto slowly walked the lead down to four, but Tatum returned to the lineup and they went into the half up 9. Then things escalated quickly in the third as Boston laid the hammer down, pushed their lead to 24 and basically cruised from there. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Porzingis gets going: After getting just four official shot attempts the night before, Porzingis was a huge part of Boston’s offense both as a scorer and as a passer. He finished with 21 points on 9-24 shooting and three assists.

- Tatum carries the day … mostly: The trend of the Celtics playing great with Tatum on the floor and not so much without him continued when it mattered (the garbage time doesn’t count). I’m not trying to beat a dead horse here, but that needs to be fixed. 

- Taking care of business: This is what everyone wanted, right? When a good team plays bad teams, everyone basically wants what the Celtics delivered: Two nondescript, increasingly easy wins that ended in garbage time. No drama. No muss. No fuss. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run and Toronto called a timeout. Amazingly, the timeout did nothing to stop Boston’s momentum, and the run extended to 21-6 and a 23-point lead. 

THINGS I LIKED

- No let up: There was no playing with their food here. I think those who commented that things were just like last year because of the two losses need to consider games like this as evidence that maybe not everything is the same. No one is considering them a finished product yet, but they're not the same. 

- Getting Porzingis shots: The company line is that everyone is on board with the “some nights it’s my night, some nights it’s not.” And while that might largely be true, it’s also nice to get guys a bunch of touches a night after they didn’t get as many as they're used to. 

- Limiting second chances: There was no freak offensive rebounding stat that kept the Raptors close. They finished the game with six second chance points and just seven offensive rebounds.

- Sam Hauser, again: He followed up the 5-10 night from deep by going 4-6. “It’s kind of my job,” Hauser said of his 3-point barrage. 

Yes it is. 

- Tatum’s +/-: He was a +42 on the night. PLUS-FORTY-TWO. He leads the NBA in raw +/- at +166. Jrue Holiday is +111. Derrick White and Porzingis are tied at seventh at +95. Jaylen Brown is 14th at +67

"I just try to make good things happen when I'm on the floor, play right away, and try to impact winning," Tatum said. "I don't necessarily think about plus/minus, I just try to go out there every time I'm on the floor and do the things that help us win. So hopefully I can keep that up because that means I’m doing something right.”

- Jaylen’s big dunk explosion: Dunks are fun! Honestly, I liked the cuts that led to the dunks more than the dunks themselves, because there was good recognition and the passing was on point. Also some are just cool.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Jaylen, Jayson, and the +/- thing: I’m not thrilled that two guys who start next to each other are separated by a hundred points in +/- rankings. Brown was a +9 on a night Tatum was +42.

14 combined shots for Holiday and White: This was their night to take a back seat. I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of games where everyone gets an even distribution of shots. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- You can’t get mad at Joe Mazzulla coaching his guys in garbage time: The Raptors bench seemed a bit miffed that Mazzulla challenged a call with 3:39 to go and a 27-point lead. 

First of all, be upset at yourselves for being in that position. 

Second of all, Mazzulla is coaching NBA players who have worked to get these moments. Just like I’m mad at the team when they miss the opportunities to get garbage time and get the end of bench some time, I’d be mad if Mazzulla just sat there and didn’t give them any guidance. 

Boston’s bench needs work, and these are valuable minutes against a live opponent to get reps in, make mistakes, and correct them on the fly. You never know when one of these guys will need to step into an emergency role earlier in a game that matters. You don’t want it to be a guy who has spent all season just freewheeling like he’s Jordan Poole in a pickup game. You want the guy getting those minutes to recognize what he’s supposed to be doing because he’s done them. 

That falls on the coach. 

“My responsibility is to my players first. And having respect for the game,” Mazzulla said. “We’ve been in that situation before where we don’t shoot the last shot, we let the clock go out, we do that all the time. 

“But with three and a half minutes to go, and you have a group of guys that check in and they are playing as hard as they can, I think it’s my responsibility to my players first. It was a clear opportunity for me to empower the players, let them know that I’m coaching you, and those minutes to me are just as important as the start of the game. That’s what I told my players. I’ll always put them first.”

That message gets through. The guys appreciate that. These are grown men for whom every opportunity could be a break that leads to a bigger opportunity. They're trying to show their coach something, and it’s imperative the coach gives them the respect they deserve while they're out there. 

Next up: The Celtics take on the New York Knicks on Monday, their third game in four nights