Boston Celtics triumphed over the Toronto Raptors on Friday with a 122-100 victory with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum adding to the tally with 20 points and 18 points. The loss ended the Raptors' seven-win streak, which included three consecutive wins after the resumption of play.
The Celtics lead the competition throughout and at one point lead by 40 points. Kemba Walker scored 17 points. Daniel Theis and Semi Ojeleye scored 11 points apiece while Robert Williams III netted 10 points.
Raptors Miss No.2 Seed
Fred VanVleet scored 13 points to lead Toronto. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam added 11 points apiece and Terence Davis had 10. The Raptors also missed an opportunity to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Toronto holds a 3 1/2-game lead over third-place Boston with four games remaining.
The Celtics are 3-2 during the restart at the NBA "bubble" at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Boston shot 49 percent from the field and made 16 of 46 (34.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Celtics were 8 of 12 from behind the arc in the third quarter when they outscored Toronto 39-20.
The Raptors, who committed 18 turnovers, shot just 42.7 percent from the field and were just 10 of 38 (26.3 percent) from long range. Toronto trailed by 10 less than two minutes into the third quarter before Boston responded with a 36-12 surge covering the remainder of the stanza.
Raptors Fall Short
Tatum scored five straight points early in the run to push the lead to 18. Later, Tatum and Brown buried back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 76-52 with 4:48 remaining. Brown canned consecutive 3-pointers and Wanamaker followed with a basket to push the margin to 29 with 1:19 remaining in the third.
Walker scored the period's final five points, including a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left, as the Celtics took a 91-57 advantage into the final quarter. Grant Williams sank a short jumper to make it 111-71 with 6:30 left in the contest. Brown and Theis scored 11 first-half points apiece, and Boston led 52-37 at the break.
(With inputs from agencies)
