Payton Pritchard scored a game-high 27 points along with five rebounds and eight assists to help the home Boston Celtics defeat the shorthanded Toronto Raptors 125-117 on Friday night.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who ended Toronto’s three-game winning streak. Boston, which has won five of its last six games, received five 3-pointers from Sam Hauser, who finished with 19 points.
The Raptors played without two of their best players: forward Brandon Ingram and forward Scottie Barnes missed the game due to injuries. Ingram sprained his thumb during Wednesday’s 97-96 victory over Charlotte, and Barnes suffered a knee injury during the fourth quarter of that same game.
Ingram averages 21.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, the most on the team. Barnes is averaging 19.1 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds to go along with 5.2 assists.
Jakob Poeltl missed his ninth consecutive game with a back injury.
The Raptors received 19 points from Ja’Kobe Walter and RJ Barrett. Walter made five three-pointers. Immanuel Quickley added 17 points and 13 assists. Barrett, Toronto’s second-leading scorer (19.6 points per game), injured his left ankle late in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Boston took a 12-point lead in the first quarter and led 37-30 after 12 minutes. A three-pointer by Barrett gave Toronto its first lead, 47-46, but the Celtics used a 14-3 run to take a 60-50 lead. Boston went into halftime with a 68-60 lead.
After Toronto’s first five points in the third quarter, Boston scored 20 of the next 26 points to take an 88-71 lead. The Celtics extended their lead to 20 points in the third quarter and took a 97-86 lead with 12 minutes left.
The Raptors cut their deficit to six with 5:17 left, but the Celtics went on an 8-0 run to take a 120-106 lead.
Friday’s game was the third meeting between both teams. Boston won 121-113 at Toronto on December 7 and 112-96 at Toronto on December 20.
–Field level media
