Final: Celtics 97, Raptors 93 - Boston officially clinches second seed

Game 80: Celtics (-3) vs. Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari, Jayson Tatum (hip), Marcus Smart (neck), Al Horford (back), Payton Pritchard (heel)

Toronto: OUT- Otto Porter (foot)

Raptors Probable Starters: Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby

Refs: Sean Wright (#4), Michael Smith (#38), Andy Nagy (#83)

Last time they played: Celtics 106, Raptors 104, January 21- 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.

A little something about this game: The Raptors are currently tied with Atlanta for the seventh seed, so there is still a possibility Toronto can be Boston’s first round playoff opponent. The Raptors have won five of their last six games. Poeltl has averaged 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals and is shooting 66.2% since his trade to Toronto. All of those numbers except for the assists would be career-highs if sustained throughout a whole season.

Things I’m looking for: 

- Keeping Toronto off the boards: They will crash the boards hard, and without Horford, Boston is short a big man. It’ll be up to everyone to keep Toronto’s wings off the boards and prevent them from getting crushed by second chance points. If Boston can win that battle, they should win the game. 

- Jaylen’s time to shine: He was a dud against Utah and he missed the last game. He’s rested and ready to resume his All-NBA push. Boston needs one win to clinch the second seed, so let’s see if Brown can have a big game to make that happen. 

- Pulling something useful out of this game: Will someone step up and give Joe Mazzulla something to consider keeping in his back pocket during the playoffs? 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.