Celtics Fight Injury And Make It 9 In A Row

By DJ Harding –

The Celtics went into the night with star forward Jayson Tatum and, at halftime, lost Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III. Smart leaving with an ankle injury, Williams leaving with a hyperextended knee, which is very bad news for Boston. Williams has had a history of knee injuries missing the beginning of the season because of the same knee that he had surgery on. The Celtics may just be playing it safe keeping Williams out, but it may be serious. 

Focusing more on the game, the Raptors started the game with a 9-2 run to open up the gate. But Boston fought back to tie it up at 10. Toronto then went on an 11-2 with Boston fighting back once again, being only down 1 at the end of the first quarter. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 13 of their 26 points in the first quarter. The second quarter was more back and forth, but for the Celtics, it was the Grant Williams show as he scored 16 of the Celtics 24 points in the second quarter. The Raptors outscored Boston 30-24, being up 7 at halftime.

Coming out of the half, the 3rd quarter was Malcolm Brogdon’s quarter as he led the team with 10 of the Celtics 31 3rd quarter points as Boston finally outscored the Raptors in a quarter 31-28. By the end of the 3rd, it was 85-79 Toronto. The 4th was opened up with a quick 5-0 run, which gave Boston the lead, and they never gave it back.  The Raptors fought back in tying up at 103 a piece, but a Payton Pritcchard hit a clutch 3 pointer, giving him 12 in the 4th quarter and the day. The Celtics would win 106-103 behind Jaylen Brown’s 27 points along with a career high 25 from Grant Williams. Malcolm Brogdon added 23, which were Boston’s top 3 scorers. For the Raptors, Pascal Siakam had 29 points, and Gary Trent Jr. contributed 22 points himself.

The Celtics improve to 9 straight wins and now have a record of 35-12, the Raptors fall to 20-27. The Raptors have back to back games tomorrow against the New York Knicks. The Celtics try to make 10 straight on Monday as they travel to Orlando. The last time they played Orlando was in a back to back in December , and they lost both matchups. Boston won the very first meeting in October and is 1-2 in the season series. Will Boston tie the season series up? We will see you on Monday at 7pm.