BSJ Game Report: Celtics 111, Raptors 101 - Severely shorthanded C's hold off Toronto for sixth straight win

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics went nine-deep in the first quarter, getting a lot of contributions but riding Payton Pritchard’s eight points to an 11-point lead. The game turned frantic in the second and the Raptors briefly took the lead, but Jayson Tatum checked back in the C’s answered, taking a 12-point halftime lead. The Raptors made another push but Pritchard stepped up again to get the lead to 13. Toronto never went away, but Jaylen Brown and Derrick White dropped eight each to hold them off. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- All hands on deck: Not only were they missing Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet, Kristaps Porzingis was a late scratch and Brown looked to be hobbled for a lot of the second half. The Celtics were forced to throw some weird lineups out there, including one where Tatum was on the floor with Baylor Scheierman, JD Davison, Neemias Queta, and Sam Hauser. 

- Derrick White’s clutch shooting: Well, clutch everything, really. He had two huge blocked shots to hold off a Raptors run and then a couple of monster 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when Boston needed them most. White was locked in from the beginning and was a huge reason why Boston was able to hold on. 

- Six in a row: The Celtics are rolling right now, having also won 10 for 11 games. They have a back-to-back tomorrow and it seems like all the guys who sat this game out will be ready to go for that game. The Pistons have won seven in a row, so this will be a tough one. 

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics went on a 7-2 run after the Raptors had cut it to seven to get the lead back up to 12 with just under two minutes to go. The Celtics got an alley oop off an inbounds play, a clutch shot from Tatum, and a White 3 off a huge offensive rebound in traffic by Pritchard. It took the Raptors nearly a full minute to score after that, which wasn’t enough time to make another charge. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Resilience: Considering the circumstances, there are a lot of things that happened that I might harp on under different circumstances. But the Celtics were without four rotation players, one of their stars was banged up, and their only center got into foul trouble. The Raptors played their butts off and made things very tough on Boston the entire second half. This was a nice win that took a lot of contributions from everyone. 

- Derrick White: You know why. 22 points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots. 

Not only is the White trade going to go down as one of Brad Stevens’ best moves, the extension to keep him in Boston for at least three more seasons after this one is one of his best signings. White will end up making around 20% of the cap in his time here, which will allow the Celtics a lot of flexibility. 

- Payton Pritchard: Yes, he had a really nice night offensively, but his offensive rebound in that turning point stretch was incredible. 

How did he get that? How does a six-foot guard keep getting in there for these big ORebs? 

Jaylen Brown: He tried to fight through some kind of leg/knee issue. I think he took a knee to the thigh and asked out of the game, but he came back in the fourth and scored eight big points. I think the Celtics might have won more comfortably if he didn’t have to come out of the game in the third. He was getting to the rim whenever he wanted. 

Jayson Tatum: 19 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, though he did have six turnovers. It wasn’t his best game, but another 11 assists is a big deal. 

Sam Hauser: 10 points on 2-4 shooting from 3 but I liked his defense over long stretches of the second half. His blocked shot was very nice and he did a pretty good job staying in front of guys. 

The Maine Guys: Shout out to Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and JD Davison for getting a few minutes each and holding things down. Walsh made some big energy plays early on and Sheierman hit a tough shot. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The turnovers: Credit the Raptors for really ramping up the defensive pressure, but the Celtics looked like they were punting on fourth down for a little while there. They gave up 15 points off 15 turnovers.

- The zone defense: The Celtics have tried mixing in zone and they have never been very good at it. It's tough to ask a group that's never played before to get it right, but they also never seem to do very well in zone. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The Torrey Craig minutes were important

I’m not going to pretend Craig was very good in this one, but his 14:37 of court time will be valuable when they go through the film. He needed some time out there in a sort of baptism by fire so he can learn what he needs to learn. 

“The guys in the locker room do a great job of taking guys in and communicating with them,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “Derrick was just talking to Torrey, just kind of about our defensive language and then the rules and the stuff that go into that. … I always tell guys if we brought you here we think you can help us win, whatever that looks like. Two minutes, 20 minutes, if we brought you here we think you can you could help us.”

Craig’s minutes weren’t great, but I liked the idea to start him. There are going to be matchups where they’ll need Tatum at the center spot. It’s very clear that it’s a position Tatum isn’t fully comfortable in, so this was as much a chance for him to get used to playing that role as it was for Craig to get acclimated. Having both of them out there in that situation against live competition will be very helpful in the long run. 

I know Mazzulla will never characterize it publicly as practice, but that's what this sort of was. They’d never get a chance to replicate these minutes like this before the playoffs, so this was a really good opportunity to try something. 

Next up: The Celtics face the Pistons on the back-to-back tomorrow night