Jayson Tatum had 23 points and eight rebounds Tuesday (Wednesday, January 1, Manila time) as the Boston Celtics crushed the Toronto Raptors 125-71 for their 10th straight win in the all-time series.
The loss extended Toronto’s losing streak to 11. The Raptors, who committed 21 turnovers, have lost their last five road games and haven’t beaten Boston since the 2021-22 season.
Payton Pritchard (5 of 8 on 3-point attempts) came off the bench to score 19 for the Celtics.
Derrick White (16), Jrue Holiday (14), Jaylen Brown (12), Sam Hauser (12) and Jordan Walsh (10) also scored in double figures for Boston, which made 22 of 43 3-point attempts (51.2 percent). No Boston starter played more than 29 minutes.
The Celtics entered the contest with three losses in their last four games.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but was 1 of 8 from 3-point territory. The Raptors received nine points from Davion Mitchell, while Jakob Poeltl contributed seven points and 13 rebounds.
The Celtics scored more points in the second half (80) than the Raptors scored in the game. Toronto’s 71 points were the fewest scored in an NBA game this season.
Toronto played without R.J. Barrett (illness) and Gradey Dick (hamstring).
Kristaps Porzingis, Boston’s No. 3 scorer (18.3 points per game), missed his third straight game with an ankle injury.
Although they missed 10 of their first 11 shots, the Celtics had a 23-12 lead after one quarter. The Raptors were 5 of 23 from the field in the quarter, including 0 for 12 from 3-point range.
Toronto was within seven late in the second quarter but trailed 45-35 at halftime.
The Celtics used a 24-3 run to extend their lead to 87-51 late in the third quarter and led 90-53 entering the fourth. Boston made 10 of its 12 3-point attempts in the third, outscoring Toronto 45-18.
Boston improved to 2-0 against Toronto this season. – Rappler.com
