Post Game - Celtics at Raptors - Friday, December 29 (W)

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401585060

From another perspective:


Raptors could become NBA laughingstock as Celtics loss precedes Pistons matchup

https://raptorsrapture.com/posts/raptors-nba-laughingstock-celtics-loss-pistons-matchup

The Raptors might make the wrong kind of NBA history.

By Mike Luciano | 10:02 PM EST




The Toronto Raptors can be excused for losing against a healthy Boston Celtics team on the road. Even the best in the league struggle with that. However, given who their next opponent is, there is a very good chance that Scottie Barnes and the rest of the squad were looking forward to Saturday.

Toronto was defeated 120-118 by a shorthanded Celtics team that did not have three of their six best players in Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford. The Raptors won't even get 24 hours to rest before their next game, as the lowly Detroit Pistons will square off against Darko Rajakovic's team.

The Pistons are losers of 28 straight games, which has set a new NBA record. However, after they took the Celtics to overtime and got an extra day of rest before playing the Raptors, many seem to be of the mindset that Saturday will be the day Monty Williams finally breaks the streak.

In a season that has been so humiliating, as the front office's collective decision not to embrace a rebuild and inability to maximize Scottie Barnes' talent has been tough to watch, losing to a team that literally hasn't won in months would be the final crack that eventually forces the dam to break.



Toronto Raptors' loss to Celtics sets up potentially humiliating game vs. Pistons

The Celtics started Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet in place of Tatum and Porzingis, but you wouldn't have known that based on how hot Boston started the game offensively. Imagine what Cade Cunningham is going to do against a defense that is leaking coolant at a frightening rate now.

The Raptors not only beat the Pistons earlier in the season, they demolished them to the tune of 142 points and a new franchise record for assists in a single game. That doesn't mean victory is guaranteed just because Toronto beat the stuffing out of them at a prior date.

Some fans may want Toronto to tank, but the players going out there every night are trying their damndest to win. There's no way to spin or sugarcoat it; a loss to a Pistons team that is losing at an unprecedented clip would perhaps be the lowest point in a season that seems to be coming up with even rockier bottoms on the fly.

Detroit has broken basketball. Teams are now looking ahead of games against contenders just to make sure they won't be the team who snaps the Pistons' streak. For a regular season game between two very bad teams on the second-to-last day of the year, the intrigue is bubbling.

Celtics-Raptors takeaways: C's survive Toronto's fourth-quarter comeback bid

https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-raptors-takeaways-cs-survive-033438799.html

Justin Leger
Fri, Dec 29, 2023, 10:34 PM EST·4 min read




Celtics-Raptors takeaways: C's survive Toronto's fourth-quarter comeback bid originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three Key Storylines

Jaylen Brown catches fire in return
Luke Kornet holds down the frontcourt
Turnovers nearly sink C's

Despite missing multiple key players on the second night of a back-to-back, the Boston Celtics extended their home win streak vs. the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain management), Kristaps Porizngis (left calf injury management), and Al Horford (rest). Those absences forced Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet into the starting lineup, though Jaylen Brown (low back contusion) returned after missing Thursday's overtime win against the Detroit Pistons.

Boston was in control for most of the night, leading by as many as 20 points and taking a 13-point advantage into the fourth quarter. The wheels started to come off in the final frame, however, as Toronto started on an 18-3 run to pull ahead and put the C's TD Garden win streak in jeopardy.

It was a nightmare quarter for the C's, but they prevailed thanks to clutch plays on both ends of the floor by Derrick White. The All-Defensive guard drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with the shot clock running out and just over three minutes left in regulation. He followed that with a lay-up that extended Boston's lead to three points with 1:04 remaining.





Former Celtics guard Dennis Schroeder missed one of his two free throws with 15.5 on the clock. That allowed Boston to escape with a 120-118 victory that keeps them undefeated at home this season at 16-0.

Brown (31 points) and White (21 points) topped the scoring column for the Celtics. Scottie Barnes (31 points, career-high seven 3-pointers) and Pascal Siakam (26 points) did their part for the Raptors.

The Celtics will travel to San Antonio to take on rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on Sunday night. First, here are three takeaways from Friday's entertaining matchup.

Jaylen Brown shines in return

The back injury Brown suffered in the Celtics' Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers didn't appear to be bothersome on Friday night.

Brown made his presence felt early and often. The two-time All-Star opened the game 4-for-4 from 3 and tallied 15 points in the first quarter. He also notched five rebounds and three assists in the frame to join Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic (twice) and Denver Nuggets two-time MVP Nikola Jokic as the only players with such a stat line in a first quarter this season, per Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.



Brown stayed hot in the second quarter to finish the first half with 24 points, six boards, and four assists. While he wasn't as effective offensively in the second half (seven points), he made his mark in other ways. He earned a double-double with 10 rebounds to go with six assists.

Brown finished an efficient 11-of-16 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. He'll look to cut down on the turnovers going forward (seven vs. Toronto), but he propelled Boston to victory with Tatum and Porzingis unavailable.



Luke Kornet holds down the frontcourt

Kornet hadn't played since Dec. 12 due to an adductor strain, plus fellow big man Neemias Queta seemingly taking his spot in the rotation. With both Porzingis and Horford out, however, C's coach Joe Mazzulla gave Kornet a chance to make an impact as a starter.

Offensively, Kornet was consistently in the right place at the right time. He battled in the paint to put up a season-high 20 points (9-11 FG), which also marks his Celtics career-high. His NBA career-high is 25.

Kornet put the finishing touches on his impressive night with a couple of big plays in the tightly-contested fourth quarter. He stopped a 10-0 Raptors run with a 3-point play early in the frame. With just 30 seconds remaining, he finished an alley-oop on an assist from Jaylen Brown to give Boston the lead.

In addition to his scoring, Kornet provided eight rebounds along with three assists and three blocks in 33 minutes. There were some defensive breakdowns but overall, the frontcourt was in good hands.

Queta chipped in with six points and five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

Turnovers nearly sink C's

The Celtics did a nice job of taking care of the basketball during their West Coast trip, but they didn't carry that into their two-game homestand.

After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half against Detroit, the C's struggled in that department again vs. Toronto. Their 16 turnovers resulted in 22 Raptors points. Meanwhile, Toronto had only four turnovers in the entire game.

Boston entered Friday averaging 10.8 turnovers over its last 10 games. It has a 17-2 record this season with fewer than 15 turnovers and an 8-4 record when it has 15 or more.

That will be an area of focus when the C's travel to San Antonio for a New Year's Eve showdown with the Spurs.

Wow wow wow wow

Is there any doubt we lose both these games last year? Smart leaving this team was the best thing for us because D White is turning into Mr Clutch and plays BETTER defense. How great was Jaylen, hitting them in the mouth over and over first? Him being out was the main reason we got off to such a bad start the last game. I prefer to land haymakers early in a fight, it seems all year we’ve been getting off to leads this year; a good thing, and the main guy taking it to them early has been Jaylen. That 15 point lead after one was all Jaylen, and shorthanded against a long athletic team, we still had a 13 point lead after 3. Why do all these loser internet hacks bust Jaylens left hand? I have seen him using the left hand bigly efficiently for years, like in the clutch last night and he has a vicious windmill dunk with the left hand right over Giannis. He has a very good flip!n left hand.

Best game of the year for Luke, have to give the coaching staff credit for having a lot of the bench guys ready to respond. Alot of them coming thru without much previous playing time, behind closed doors the coaching staff must be working them to be able to be ready. White with so many big plays at winning time. Pissed me off how many bad calls White and Jaylen were getting that took away points and gave Raptors momentum and we were shorthanded. When Jaylen went to bench was an incredible weak line up both ends. Despite losing lead in 4th, still did what we had to do behind Jaylen, D White and Holiday to pull it out in dramatic fashion.

After being sidelined Kornet really stepped up. He was tremendous. Just as I was giving Queta his job he put on this performance. I guess Joe has a good problem now, as both Kornet and Queta seem to be reliable.

Jaylen was just great as well. Holiday also made so many big plays. Of course, my man, D White continues to do whatever it takes to get a W. His shot was off last night, but that didn't stop him from stuffing the stat sheet and playing superior D.

This really was a great win.

Celtics17 wrote:
After being sidelined Kornet really stepped up. He was tremendous. Just as I was giving Queta his job he put on this performance. I guess Joe has a good problem now, as both Kornet and Queta seem to be reliable.

Jaylen was just great as well. Holiday also made so many big plays. Of course, my man, D White continues to do whatever it takes to get a W. His shot was off last night, but that didn't stop him from stuffing the stat sheet and playing superior D.

This really was a great win.

+1

I would still like to see roster moves to bring in a reliable big or two, but Queta is looking like he might lend some consistent quality minutes. If Luke can come up with the occasional game like last night, I would change my plea to finding one more big vs two.

No Tatum, no Porzingis? No problem; White’s got it covered. White does need to be an All-Star.

Everyone that played contributed to another big win.

As the Celtics head into the month of January, 4 sets of B2B games looms large. The development and expansion of the playing time for reserve guys is coming at the right time.

The question about our bigman depth seems less problematic given the recent play of Queta and Kornet.

I do not expect to see too many 20/8 games from Kornet nor a regular menu of double doubles coming from Queta. However, the depth that they add cannot be overlooked.

Everyone is saying that the Celtics probably lose both games of this B2B last season. It's hard to argue with that assessment.

This team is well connected. There is a single goal in front of them. There are no pouty faces and no droopy shoulders.

What a gutsy win! Do we have the BEST starting guard combo in the league or what!

Have to tip the hat to the coaching staff for the way the Celts are playing.