The Boston Celtics demolished their Atlantic division rivals on Saturday night to continue their unbeaten home start to the season. Jaylen Brown had another exhilarating performance, following his 28-point outing on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets. Brown finished the game with 29 points and 5 rebounds leading the Celtics to another victory at the TD Garden. Both Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis also surpassed 20 points, with Tatum picking up 28 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Porzingis arguably had his most complete game yet as a Celtic, as he flashed glimpses of his passing potential, hauled in seven rebounds, and put up 21 points.
This was the first of four meetings between the two sides this season, as Toronto started the game brightly taking an early lead. Although, it did not take long for the Celtics to surge back into the game and take the lead. They ended the first quarter with a 30-26 lead. The Celtics’ defence impressed as they held everybody on the Raptors to under 20 points – Pascal Siakam led the way for the visitors with 17 – showing why they are the number four ranked defence in the league so far this season.
Boston extended their lead throughout the second quarter, as Jayson Tatum once again did a superb job of marshalling the bench unit. Tatum managed to score 10 points in the second quarter alone and led the game with a staggering +42 plus-minus. Tatum now leads the NBA in plus-minus, followed by Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday. Boston’s suffocating defensive effort went on, holding the Raptors to just 20 points in the second quarter, as they were rewarded with a 9-point half time lead.
Boston’s bench once again performed well, especially Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard, as they were able to outscore the Raptors’ bench 41-32. Hauser continued his hot shooting streak from three, knocking down 4-6 from behind the arc and ended the game with 12 points and 4 rebounds. Pritchard also found some success with a good outing, picking up a plus-minus of +14 in the Celtics’ win.
The second half was a repeat of the first, as the Celtics’ dominated. Brown lit up the court with several showtime dunks, including an alley-up from fellow All-NBA star Tatum, as he finished the game with 29 points on 60% shooting from the field. The Raptors really struggled, in particular Scottie Barnes who has had played excellently so far this season up until this matchup with the Celtics. Barnes fell way below his season average (scoring only 10 points), as he could not find any way past the elite defence of Jrue Holiday. Boston eventually ran out comfortable winners, as the game finished 117-94. With this win Boston moves to a record of 7-2 and remain unbeaten at home so far this season.
After the game Porzingis commented on the Celtics’ season so far via ESPN: “I feel like we’re really far from being the finished product, as a team that is. We’re far from that still… there’s going to be ups and downs. There’s going to be like three games where it’s going to look insane and three games where it’s going to fall apart, and the fans are going to overreact”. Joe Mazzulla was questioned about his use of a challenge late in the fourth quarter, whilst leading by 27 points: “At the end of the day, my responsibility is to my player first”. The Celtics will play their final game of this three game homestand on Monday night against the New York Knicks. With Boston looking to extend their unbeaten streak at the TD Garden.
By Will C
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