POST GAME TORONTO - AWAY

Siakam scores 40 points, Raptors beat Celtics 115-112 in OT

ESPN BOSTON

TORONTO -- — Pascal Siakam had a season-high 40 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out, and the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Boston Celtics 115-112 in overtime on Monday night.

Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby scored 14 points apiece, Thad Young and Gary Trent Jr. each had 12, and Scottie Barnes scored 10 before fouling out as Toronto snapped a four-game home losing streak against the Celtics.


Playing without forwards Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum and centers Al Horford and Robert Williams III, Boston lost for the fifth time in 29 games.

Trent made two free throws to put Toronto up by three points with 14.4 seconds left. Marcus Smart and Grant Williams both missed game-tying 3-point tries on Boston's final possession.

Smart had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Williams scored 17, and Derrick White added 15 for Boston.

Seven Celtics players scored 10 points or more, including Daniel Theis, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Toronto stayed one game ahead of Cleveland for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, while Boston fell one game behind Miami for first in the East. The Celtics host the Heat on Wednesday night.

Sixth place is the last guaranteed postseason spot, with teams finishing in the Nos. 7-10 spots headed for the play-in tournament.

Brown and Tatum both sat with sore right knees. Both played in a win over Minnesota on Sunday and are expected to return for Wednesday's pivotal showdown with the Heat.

Horford missed his second straight game for personal reasons. Coach Ime Udoka said Horford is day to day.

Before the game, the Celtics said Williams will need surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, likely keeping him out for the rest of the regular season and well into the playoffs.

Williams didn't return after limping off at the end of the third quarter Sunday. Udoka said Williams and the Celtics are considering various surgical options and will make a decision later this week.

"There are some (options) that keep you out longer than others," Udoka said. "We're hoping for the best as far as that."

Boston led 38-30 after one. After scoring 10 points in the first, Siakam added 15 more in the second, and VanVleet's three-point play with 3.3 seconds to go in the half gave Toronto a 59-58 lead at the break.

The score was tied 80-all through three quarters.

JUST FOR KICKS


The members of Canada's men's national soccer team received a standing ovation when they took the court during a timeout in the second quarter. Canada beat Jamaica 4-0 Sunday to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Made nine turnovers in the second, leading to 14 points. … Shot 6 for 12 from 3-point range in the first quarter, but went 6 for 28 from distance the rest of the way.

Raptors: C Khem Birch (right knee) was not available. … Trent started for Toronto after missing the previous three games because of a sore left big toe. He shot 4 for 12 in 37 minutes.

UP NEXT

Celtics: Host Miami on Wednesday night.

Raptors: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.

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With apologies in advance for going overboard, I have been a Celtics fan since the 50s, and have seldom been prouder of the Cs. If we had either RW or Al we would have smoked them, in their arena, with just one starter, in a btb.With apologies to those with more faith than me, I don't think we can win it all without the Timelord, but getting the bench guys minutes in order to appraise their bonafides may be a blessing in disguise. No, I'm not giving up Rosalie, but I'm not sure what we can do to stop the Siakims of the world, without RW. I'm along for the ride, though, until the final whistle. Apropos of nothing, Luke Kornet may not be very good, but he actually can do more than a cigar store wooden statue We are on the verge, when the squad is healthy, of becoming a dynasty, in my ever so humble opinion..

We had this game, all NBA teams have to deal with b2b’s and glad we rested 2 J’s and Al for the long haul. I’m confident we have found our identity and system enough that we can still play very good ball going forward. Theis would be my pick to start next to Al, with GWill coming off the bench. The key will still be the majestic Tatum and his sidekick Brown, playing at their recent levels. They make life easier on the floor for the rest of the team. Tonight PP, White and Smart all struggled with efficiency and we were still right there, 1 or 2 plays our way, even a FT and we would have won this game. Our defensive effort was there, we played hard shorthanded and barely lost to a deep team that is also playing very well. No doubt in my mind with the 3 missing starters, even without the Timelord, we would have won this game.

Loved the defense, and the defense of Nesmith, hit a big 3 that should have won the game for us, also had 3 steals and some very nice drives. I want to see him get further acclimated in the next few games. I think he’s itching to contribute and we are gonna need him. I don’t know what happened to White, he missed too many bunnies on drives that are a strength of his game. If he just buried a few, different outcome. Smart was gallant, made some classic Smart defensive plays; tried to do a little too much hero ball, guess that’s what happens without the 2 J’s. They will make life easier for everyone, like they have been doing. We will be smaller now, but think we will still be a very tough out for anyone.

jrleftfoot wrote:With apologies in advance for going overboard, I have been a Celtics fan since the 50s, and have seldom been prouder of  the Cs. If we had either RW or Al we would have smoked them, in their arena, with just one starter, in a btb.With apologies to those with more faith than me, I don't think we can win it all without the Timelord, but getting the bench guys minutes in order to appraise their bonafides may be a blessing in disguise. No, I'm not giving up Rosalie, but I'm not sure what we can do to stop the Siakims of the world, without RW. I'm along for the ride, though, until the final whistle. Apropos of nothing, Luke Kornet may not be very good, but he actually can do more than a cigar store wooden statue We are on the verge, when the squad is healthy, of becoming a dynasty, in my ever so humble opinion..  

On dynasty interesting, if we just stayed healthy, love this team against anyone this year. Amazing the turnaround and how everyone gelled together the last 2 months, empowering each other; Jaylen’s words, we have been the most dominant team in the league, just crushing playoff teams. On an emerging dynasty, I love our youth, GWill, Pritch and Nesmith I see getting better and better in their multiple roles playing off the J’s, even though Nesmith didn’t make his mark yet. Smart and White are heady vets that can further assist J’s and make them better both ends. Which brings us to the bigs, RWill is a great talent, was having a breakout year as a DPoY candidate; but he’s always been fragile and has always had serious injury concerns. Everytime he goes on the floor, I always pray he gets up in one piece. Al is having a phenomenal year, a month into the season, I thought he was washed up. Then he like the team started playing really strong, Al is 35 and is such a force both ends, but 35 is still 35. We need both in our double big line up, but we need more insurance there. Theis is also very good and we will be seeing a lot of him in this playoff run, his depth is essential. We need more reliable strong young bigs going forward, even with Timelord and Al for obvious reasons. I think all the other positions we have covered to actually be a future dynasty, we are that good and the chemistry and way we play together is even better, but Brad still has serious work to do this off season as does the medical/training staff going forward.

As great as RWIII is, I look at Theis' line last night, 13/10/2/2/1.  And although he can hit the 3-ball but didn't last night and only went 0-2, his numbers and performance look equal if not better than RWIII's.  RWIII does not shoot any 3's much less make them and gets 1.4 assists per game.   RWIII does block a few more shots.  Theis had two last night and one steal.  Theis can go down low or pop out.    

This is what we got Theis for.  Injuries to RWIII.  Theis stepped up and will now be asked to continue to step up.  Yes, we're down a player, a great player, but he's gone for now.  Overall Theis is a mild step down in the pinch.  We're not falling back too much here in a tight situation.  Both centers have different ways of getting to the finish line but the end result is the same.  In Case Of Emergency, Break Glass.  Time to break the glass, Theis!

We were 7-7 without him in the line up but that was all figured before the last two months and we couldn't find our a$$e$ with both hands.  Let's see how that record looks going forward.  With 6 games left, I'll go with 6-0, barring any other starters missing time.    

I'm just sayin'.  Definitely no time to push the panic button. Just remember Paul Pierce in the wheelchair.  

db

Down key players and taking it to OT against a decent team.

Hard to miss the positives in that one.

+1 NYCelt. More like +10!!

db

I didn't watch the OT. When the 4th ended I figured I had seen a great effort by the Cs and I really didn't care who won at that point. There are no moral victories but that game was a statement of character. I did think that Toronto paid a lot more attention to Payton than other teams and I assume that was because they had the luxury of not worrying about the Js offense. We have a lot of good people but none that can draw the attention away from a shooter like PP the way the Js can. I did note that Marcus resorted to a little hero ball at the end but he earned it otherwise.

Do we still have a roster spot? Obviously there's no RWIII wandering around loose. But it would be nice to maybe pickup a tall (6'9"+) defender who could give us five or ten minutes. No scoring required but solid and experienced enough to protect the paint. Maybe a recent retiree? JTOL

I like Daniel Theis, but I don't see how he can compensate for the 4 or 5 easy dunks RWIII gets every night, and he certainly cant match the time lord's defensive contributions. Hope the guys are able to compensate, but downplaying the loss of Williams is a bit of a pipe dream IMO.

cowens/oldschool wrote:We had this game, all NBA teams have to deal with b2b’s and glad we rested 2 J’s and Al for the long haul. I’m confident we have found our identity and system enough that we can still play very good ball going forward. Theis would be my pick to start next to Al, with GWill coming off the bench. The key will still be the majestic Tatum and his sidekick Brown, playing at their recent levels. They make life easier on the floor for the rest of the team. Tonight PP, White and Smart all struggled with efficiency and we were still right there, 1 or 2 plays our way, even a FT and we would have won this game. Our defensive effort was there, we played hard shorthanded and barely lost to a deep team that is also playing very well. No doubt in my mind with the 3 missing starters, even without the Timelord, we would have won this game.

Loved the defense, and the defense of Nesmith, hit a big 3 that should have won the game for us, also had 3 steals and some very nice drives. I want to see him get further acclimated in the next few games. I think he’s itching to contribute and we are gonna need him. I don’t know what happened to White, he missed too many bunnies on drives that are a strength of his game. If he just buried a few, different outcome. Smart was gallant, made some classic Smart defensive plays; tried to do a little too much hero ball, guess that’s what happens without the 2 J’s. They will make life easier for everyone, like they have been doing. We will be smaller now, but think we will still be a very tough out for anyone.

I’m a big Smart supporter but last night I feel like he cost us the game. Hey tried to do way too much. Sure he needed to do more without the J’s Horford and Rob but I wish he would have tried harder to get others some looks. Nesmith played quite a few minutes but had very little opportunities out there to score. Maybe he was hiding but I doubt it.
What we saw was 3 players out of their element. Smart, very good PG with a few stars around him. Without that he tends to lose self awareness and plays hero ball with tricky passes and numerous turnovers. BTW, 25 shots 28 points???. Grant. Same. Tried to do things thats not in his wheelhouse and for the life of me I cannot understand White continuing to drive and crash into 2-3 Raptors repeatedly.
Despite that, it still was our game to win. Probably could have won by double digits if the ball moved a little better and others got more shots. Oh well……

Ktron wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:We had this game, all NBA teams have to deal with b2b’s and glad we rested 2 J’s and Al for the long haul. I’m confident we have found our identity and system enough that we can still play very good ball going forward. Theis would be my pick to start next to Al, with GWill coming off the bench. The key will still be the majestic Tatum and his sidekick Brown, playing at their recent levels. They make life easier on the floor for the rest of the team. Tonight PP, White and Smart all struggled with efficiency and we were still right there, 1 or 2 plays our way, even a FT and we would have won this game. Our defensive effort was there, we played hard shorthanded and barely lost to a deep team that is also playing very well. No doubt in my mind with the 3 missing starters, even without the Timelord, we would have won this game.

Loved the defense, and the defense of Nesmith, hit a big 3 that should have won the game for us, also had 3 steals and some very nice drives. I want to see him get further acclimated in the next few games. I think he’s itching to contribute and we are gonna need him. I don’t know what happened to White, he missed too many bunnies on drives that are a strength of his game. If he just buried a few, different outcome. Smart was gallant, made some classic Smart defensive plays; tried to do a little too much hero ball, guess that’s what happens without the 2 J’s. They will make life easier for everyone, like they have been doing. We will be smaller now, but think we will still be a very tough out for anyone.

I’m a big Smart supporter but last night I feel like he cost us the game. Hey tried to do way too much. Sure he needed to do more without the J’s Horford and Rob but I wish he would have tried harder to get others some looks. Nesmith played quite a few minutes but had very little opportunities out there to score. Maybe he was hiding but I doubt it.
What we saw was 3 players out of their element. Smart, very good PG with a few stars around him. Without that he tends to lose self awareness and plays hero ball with tricky passes and numerous turnovers. BTW, 25 shots 28 points???. Grant. Same. Tried to do things thats not in his wheelhouse and for the life of me I cannot understand White continuing to drive and crash into 2-3 Raptors repeatedly.
Despite that, it still was our game to win. Probably could have won by double digits if the ball moved a little better and others got more shots. Oh well……

Exactly, such a winnable game, loved the effort, the defense even without our best defenders, the mistakes just took too much of a toll. Grant driving at a key stage, had an opening and dribbles the ball off his foot…??? One thing that was encouraging was Theis doing some very good dirty work, he may not be Rob, but nobody is, was a good sign as he playing with Al is going to be key and I still think our defense will be stellar.

Ruing the missed free throws. A number of them missed late. Smart and Theis, especially Theis. One more free throw could have made the difference.

Still, it was fun to watch them compete.