Pascal Siakam was the top scorer of the game with 29 points
The benches played a decisive role in the match
The Celtics added this Saturday their ninth consecutive victory by beating the Raptors in Toronto 104-106 in a game in which Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III had to withdraw due to injury for the Boston team and OG Anunoby at the locals.
Pascal Siakam, with a double-double, was the top scorer of the game with 29 points, in addition to nine rebounds and 10 assists. His teammate Gary Trent Jr. had 22 points while Precious Achiuwa had another double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
In the Bostons, Jaylen Brown scored 27 pointsGrant Williams 25 y Malcolm Brogdon 23.
One of the keys to the match were the benches: while the one from Boston added 62 points, the one from Toronto only had 14.
The Spanish Juancho Hernangómez played 9.48 minutes with the Raptors in which he got a rebound and two assists.
The Celtics arrived in Toronto after winning their last eight games, reaffirming their role as the fittest team right now in the NBA.
And if consistency is one of the Celtics’ hallmarks of Jayson Tatum y Marcus Smart, This season, the irregularity is that of the Raptors, who reached the match against Boston after losing their two previous games.
The last one, on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Raptors lost it by two points128-126, after reaching 18 points up on the scoreboard.
It was the umpteenth time this season that the Raptors had blown a substantial lead to lose the game in the final minutes, which has placed the Canadian team in 11th place of the Eastern Conference, out of the play-ins.
In contrast, on the same Thursday, the Celtics overcame a nine-point deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter, they forced extra time and ended up winning 121-118 to add their eighth consecutive victory. A copy of what they did this Saturday in Toronto.
The Raptors, who know that defense is what is causing them serious problems this year, came out against the Celtics determined not to repeat their mistake.
During the first three minutes, the locals only allowed the Celtics to score two points allowing them to initially go 9-2 thanks to seven points from OG Anunoby.
Without Jason Tatum on the court, out with left wrist problems, Jaylon Brown took over scoring responsibility for the Celtics and with eight consecutive points tied the game 10-10.
The Raptors, without their starting point guard Fred VanVleet, who is out with rib discomfortThey did not slacken and were up 11 points, 25-14, with 2.18 to go until the end of the first quarter.
But another reaction from the Celtics, this one starring Malcolm Brogdon, allowed the Celtics closed the first 12 minutes just one point behind, 27-26.
In the second quarter, the Celtis came up five points, 38-43, after six minutes of play. But eight points from Siakam in the second half of the quarter put the Raptors back in the lead, They went seven points up at halftime, 57-50.
The worst thing for the Celtics was that with 9 seconds to go before halftime, Smart suffered a sprained right ankle that he sent to the locker room for the rest of the game. The withdrawal of the Celtics point guard was added to that of Robert Williams III, who was also injured in the first half of the game.
The Raptors dominated for much of the third quarter, thanks to 12 points from Siakam and another eight from Precious Achiuwa. On the Celtics, Brogdon kept his team afloat with 10 points in the quarter.
When the last quarter began, the Raptors were up four, 85-81. But the locals noted the loss of Anunoby in the third quarter with discomfort in his right ankle.
In six minutes, the Celtics were up eight, 93-101, thanks to points from Brown and Payton Pritchard.
A new reaction from the Raptors placed a tie 103-103 with two minutes to go.
But, following the usual script of this season, those of Toronto were unable to finish off and they lost again by the minimum, 104-106, against the Celtics.
