The Celtics, briefly, looked like they were in rare trouble on Monday night in Toronto under all-too-familiar circumstances. A brutal start to the third quarter, a period that has been their Achilles’ heel this season, required a response.
As usual, the Celtics had the answers.
On a night they didn’t have Jaylen Brown – who was out with a minor right knee hyperextension – the Celtics got important contributions across the board. Jayson Tatum led a dominant third-quarter surge, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday elevated their play on both ends and the Celtics finally found an answer defensively. That led the way for an impressive finish as the C’s held off the feisty, new-look Raptors with a 105-96 victory.
The Celtics have now won eight consecutive meetings against the Raptors as they swept the season series again.
White and Holiday each scored 22 points as all five Celtics starters scored in double figures. White scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a back-breaking corner 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining that pushed away Toronto’s final rally to seal this victory, one that was fueled on the defensive end.
The Celtics, despite leading for the majority of the first half, couldn’t find separation despite the Raptors’ struggles from 3-point range – they finished 4-for-32 from deep – and felt the wrath of that to begin the third quarter. The Raptors, led by the newly acquired R.J. Barrett, punished the Celtics in transition and torched them in the paint to back an 18-5 run to put them up seven midway through the third quarter.
But the C’s woke up on both ends. Defensively, they went to one of their curveballs by switching to a zone defense. Holiday and Al Horford led the charge defensively as the Celtics seemed to flummox the Raptors. Offensively, Tatum took over. He ignited the Celtics’ rally with a dunk, then tied the game when Holiday found him back-door for an explosive three-point play on a dunk. The Raptors briefly retook the lead with a dunk from Pascal Siakam, but that’s all the success they found to finish the third.
The Celtics, though they were crushed in transition with 30 Raptors fast-break points, stayed active in their half-court defense and flourished in that third quarter as they responded with a dominant 18-2 run over the final six minutes of the period. Tatum scored nine points during that surge and finished the quarter with a pair of assists to put the Celtics up nine entering the fourth. They regained control of the game behind their defense, even without Brown.
In the fourth, the Celtics continued to answer every Raptors run. With Tatum on the bench to start the final period, White led the second unit and scored seven minutes in the first three minutes before Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer put the Celtics up 14. The Raptors responded with an 8-0 run, but Holiday – who had his most aggressive game of the season offensively – answered with a pair of 3-pointers to restore the Celtics’ advantage.
The Raptors had another 8-0 run as the Celtics’ offense went cold for a few minutes, but the visitors had what they needed in the most important moments. Toronto had a chance to cut its deficit to one possession with less than two minutes remaining, but Immanuel Quickley missed another Raptors 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Tatum drew a double team but found White in the corner, where he smoothly set his feet and knocked down the game-sealing triple.