What a difference a couple of weeks makes for the Boston Celtics.
Sixteen days after being dealt its worst loss in franchise history, a 54-point defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics (28-12), the Toronto Raptors (10-31) returned the favor with a 110-97 victory over the defending NBA champions.
The Raptors’ unlikely win against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Celtics that dated back to March 28, 2022. Boston, meanwhile, is now 7-7 in its last 14 games, a trend not lost on the team’s all-star forward.
“We’re going through some s— right now,” said Jayson Tatum, who finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in the loss. “It’s tough, but we said after the game we got to go through it together, as best we can, stick together.”
The Celtics, who were beaten by a .500 Sacramento team last Friday before besting an eight-win New Orleans squad by a single point Sunday, jumped out to a four-point first-quarter lead before being outscored in each of the next three frames. Boston connected on just 16 of 46 three-pointers in the contest and turned the ball over nine times.
Never one to overact, Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla said his team will work through their struggles.
“Obviously, we’re not playing our best basketball,” Mazzulla told reporters after the game. “You can’t expect anything to be easy, and you can’t have an expectation that it’s always supposed to go your way, because it’s not. We just have to find a way to enjoy the challenge but make sure we do it together.”
The Celtics were led offensively by NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate Payton Pritchard, who scored 20 points — including four three-pointers — off the bench. Boston center Kristaps Porzingis (18 points, eight rebounds), guard Jrue Holiday (12 points, six rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (10 points, seven rebounds, four assists) also scored in double figures for the visiting team.
Toronto, which won its third contest in 19 games, was led by a RJ Barrett with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl (16 points, 11 rebounds) also registered a double-double for the Raptors, while Scottie Barnes added 18 points.
“The guys are starting to get a little bit more time with the same group of guys on the court,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković said of his team’s recent improvement. “There is a little bit more continuity. There is more familiarity with each other when teammates are going to be on the court. What are we doing? How do we need to execute? It comes down also to the willingness of our team.”
Toronto, which beat the Golden State Warriors (20-20) on Monday, will try and win a third straight game for the first time this season when it travels to face the Milwaukee Bucks (22-17) on Friday. The Celtics will also be back in action Friday when they welcome the Orlando Magic (23-19) to the TD Garden.
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
