BSJ Game Report: Celtics 125, Raptors 117 - Celtics offense on fire, even without 3-pointers

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

IN A NUTSHELL

Sam Hauser led an offensive explosion that grew the lead as high as 12 early on, but the Raptors were hot too, and they cut it to three early in the second. They took a lead halfway through the quarter, but then Anfernee Simons got going, and Boston led by eight at halftime. Payton Pritchard helped push it to 20, but a Raptors run cut it to 11 going into the fourth. They got it down to six, but the Celtics went on one more run to put it away.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- 2-point barrage: The Celtics shot well from 3, but they didn’t take a ton. The 28 is the lowest this season by far (previous 33 vs. Orlando twice) and one of the lowest outputs in the Joe Mazzulla era. 

“At the end of the day, versus the coverages that we're playing against, we have to take the shots that are there,” Mazzulla said. “But you're also playing against a team that really pressures, and I thought our speed, especially in the first half, I thought our guys handling the ball did a great job. I thought our bigs did a great job setting screens, but I thought we just combated their pressure by opening up driving lanes.”

- Hot shooting: Both teams started hot, but the Celtics kept it up all game long, finishing 53.4% overall, 50% from 3, and 89.5% from the line. Hauser shot 70%, Pritchard shot 63%, Derrick White shot 50%.  

- Simons big off the bench again: He’s been on a nice roll lately, averaging 17.2 points per game on 54.4% shooting, including a whopping 62.2% from 3 over his last five games. He’s now shooting 41% from deep this season  

TURNING POINT 

The game changed on Boston’s 25-8 run in the third that turned a three-point game into a 20-point game. The Raptors were never able to get it back to even after that. The Celtics put the game away with a 12-3 run late in the fourth quarter. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Anfernee Simons: The Celtics' bench was a weakness earlier this season, but Simons has changed that. He had 15 points and five assists in this game, but afterward, Mazzulla made sure to praise his work on the other end of the floor. 

“I thought his defense was good in the second half,” he said. “I love the role that he's in, because he comes in and it's another guy that can play-make for us, another guy that can score for us. But again, I like the fact that he takes pride in his defense. He wants to get better every night.”

- Payton Pritchard: Look at this … 

He was 8-10 in the paint, 6-8 in the non-restricted area. I’ve mentioned it before, but this evolution in Pritchard’s game continues to be impressive because (a) he looks so out of place scoring there, and (b) he added a go-to shot to his repertoire. And beyond that, he has added the counter to his counter, which is the step-through move. So if the drive is cut off, he can go to the fadeaway, and if the defense closes out on that, he steps through.

That's working on your craft. 

- Derrick White: You know why. 

18 points on 50% shooting, five assists, three rebounds, two blocked shots and just one turnover. He’s an incredible basketball player. 

- Sam Hauser: He shot 7-10 overall and 5-7 from 3. He also had four rebounds and he took on the RJ Barrett matchup. 

“RJ Barrett has been playing well. Sam started on him, guarded him almost the entire game,” Mazzulla said. “I think everyone always sees Sam's shooting, but his defense is top-notch, and he has the ability to focus on a guy and take tendencies, and I thought he was great defensively tonight.”

- Jaylen Brown: The shot wasn’t there (he shot 6-16), but he got to the free-throw line 13 times. Of course, it’s interesting that he got that many free throw attempts in the game after blasting the refs multiple times. 

“Either way it goes, I got to adjust with the game,” Brown said. “Tonight was a night where Toronto was very physical and I was able to get to the line. Last night wasn't – I mean, the day before that wasn't my best, but night to night, things may change. 

“I just got to keep my head on straight. Don't let it affect my physicality or the way I play. Don't let it cloud my vision: thinking about the refs, not thinking about making the right play. So I just got to stay poised. I'm versatile, flexible enough to make it happen … but it feels good though. It feels good to get to the line.”

He also had eight rebounds and seven assists. I wasn’t thrilled with his game, necessarily. I think he’s still trying to do too much sometimes, but he was better in that regard tonight. 

He also did this:

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Another team unstoppable from 3: I’ll say it again and again and again … the Celtics defense this season is designed to take away the rim and live with certain 3-pointers. Ja’Kobe Walter made three 3-pointers over his last five games, and he made just 39 the entire season (for reference: Josh Minott has made 32), but he made five in this game. 

This is going to be a recurring issue for Boston. How do they deal with the unlikely guy getting blistering hot from 3? Also, how much do they even care? They were up 20 in this game and had the lead in double digits most of the fourth quarter. 

Still, Boston’s defense is designed to give up certain 3-pointers, which scares me when teams can gameplan for that stuff in the playoffs. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Jaylen Brown is a new man.

Okay, maybe not new, but he’s opening up in a lot of ways that no one expected. 

Before the game, Darko Rajaković praised Brown for developing his left hand into as much of a weapon as his right. 

“He’s lying,” Brown joked. “Don’t listen to him.” 

But it’s true. Brown has no issue going left, which he showed up a few times in this game. So he was asked about what he’d done to improve it, which got this incredibly open answer that we never would have gotten in years past. Here it is, in full: 

“I never looked at it as a weakness. I mean, I tore all my ligaments in my wrist in 2021, and I've had some procedures and stuff post that, where I've had a couple of loose bodies, where I've had some chips in my wrist over the last couple years. One year was in that 2023 when we came back down from that series 3-0. So I've had some issues. I don't usually tell the media or the world about it, but I've had some issues with my left wrist. But I've always felt like my whole life I've been able to get to my off hand. I've dunked on people with my left hand. I've never had an issue. But when you have injuries and things like that, you go through bad stretches where, probably some of those things you guys have seen. But I've been able to find some modern medicine that's helped me regain some mobility in my wrist. And at times, sometimes I wake up and I can feel the weather in my wrist at times. And at times I wake up, and it feels great. So it's just one of those things I just got to navigate. But I've definitely found some modern medicine that's helped increase the blood flow and the range. But I've had some issues, since 2021 with my wrist. But I like it when people force me to my left. I hope they keep doing it.”

The modern medicine he’s talking about is PRP (platelet-rich plasma) and stem cell therapy, which he revealed in a follow-up answer. He said falling on it could cause it to swell, or knock fragments free, all of which was incredibly revealing for a player who normally plays things close to the vest. 

So why be so open all of a sudden?

“None of you have never asked me about it, to be honest,” he said. “But since Jay asked me, I'm going to tell him the truth. But yeah, I think that is kind of true though. I think I'm in the age of – it’s the age of truth, 2026. The year of the horse is on its way. It's a year where truth will emerge, so I've been streaming, being more transparent. So he asked me a question and I gave him an answer. At times that might not have been the case, but that’s the truth.”

Maybe this is just him feeling free as he heads into the 30-plus portion of his career. Whatever it is, I’m all for it. This opens up so many doors with Jaylen. I’m not sure he’s ready for what he just unleashed on himself. 

Next Up: The Celtics host the Spurs on the back-to-back (and third game in four nights) Saturday night.