The Raptors have fallen below .500 for the first time this season after blowing a huge lead to the Celtics.
Toronto had a massive 22-point lead in the second quarter before allowing a 14-0 Celtics run right before the first half to allow the Celtics to crawl back into the game. After that, it was a tight contest the rest of the way, and the Raptors even took the lead in the fourth but couldn’t close it out, with multiple chances in the dying seconds.
To be more specific, Shead had a wide-open three with just under 40 seconds to go in the fourth quarter that could have given Toronto a four-point lead, but it was short, hitting the front rim first. In the ensuing offensive possession, RJ Barrett had a nice spin move past Derrick White to get to the rim but was met by Neemias Queta and ultimately missed a layup at the rim with just under 20 seconds to go. It could have given Toronto a one-point lead heading into the final seconds of the game.
The starting lineup was horrible outside of Ja’Kobe Walter and Jakob Poeltl, at least offensively, as the trio of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles shot a combined 9-for-39 from the field, good enough for a total of 28 points on just over 23 percent shooting.
On to the positives, Jakob Poeltl is picking up some momentum after a terrible start, as his box score was a bit pedestrian with just six points, but he is having a bigger impact lately. Ja’Kobe Walter was awesome, with his three-point shooting super reliable: 15 of his 17 points came beyond the arc, and he shot an efficient 50 percent from beyond the arc.
The bench was also amazing tonight, as Battle gave you 12 points on over 50 percent shooting. Allen Graves had his best offensive game of his young career hitting a really impressive three threes out of four.
Jamal Shead was the one bench member who struggled to contribute as a shot maker, but his usual playmaking was on point, as always. Alijah Martin also brought reliable three-point shooting with four threes made out of five. Toronto’s injuries have opened the door for Martin to see extended minutes, and he’s answered the call. We also saw the first real meaningful minutes from Kyle Anderson, and he did all right with an all-around stat line of two points, three rebounds and four assists in 11 minutes.
Toronto’s team defence as a whole was also good, holding Boston to just 98 points as they shot just 41.1 percent from the field and 35 percent beyond the arc as a whole. They also turned the Celtics over 18 times.
The double-digit scorers for the Celtics were led by Jason Tatum, with a very inefficient 24 points on 21 shots. Neemias Queta was able to score 11 points, with 6 of those points coming from the free-throw line. Derrick White shot just under 50 percent, going 7-for-15 from the field to ultimately come away with 19 points. Finally, Payton Pritchard, who continues to haunt the Raptors, had 14 points on 13 shots.
It was a tough blow to the Raptors, but they were without their two best players, Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes. They showed that they can hang with one of the top dogs of the Eastern Conference and have a chance to put this game behind them immediately tonight against another elite matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
