Pre-deadline trades 1, standing pat 0.
The Boston Celtics didn’t do anything before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, while the teams around them in the standings, including the Toronto Raptors, were active. We’ll have to give the teams’ decisions more than one game to find out what the right decision ultimately was, but Friday night belonged to the Raptors.
The Kyle Lowry-less (wrist) Raptors gained ground on the Avery Bradley-less (Achilles) Celtics in the race for the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed with a 107-97 win at Air Canada Centre.
Isaiah Thomas led the C’s with 20 points and was one of four Boston players in double figures, along with Marcus Smart (19 points), Jae Crowder (19 points) and Jaylen Brown (13 points). DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with a career-high 43 points for the Raptors. Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker scored 15 and 9 points, respectively, in their Toronto debuts.
With the win, Toronto improved to 34-24, while Boston dropped to 37-21.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford
EARLY RUN
The two teams were pretty even through the first half of the first quarter, but the C’s broke open a 10-10 tie with a 19-8 run to close the opening 12 minutes with a 29-18 advantage. Boston shot just over 50 percent in the first quarter (11 of 20 field goals), and its scoring was pretty evenly distributed. Crowder, Brown and Thomas all had five points, while Horford and Marcus Smart added four points each. The same can’t be said for Toronto, which only had scoring contributions from three players — DeRozan (10 points), Ibaka (four points) and Patrick Patterson (four points).
CHIPPY STRETCH
Things got pretty intense between the two teams in the second quarter. First, DeMarre Carroll shoved Thomas and was called for a technical and Flagrant 1 foul. Thomas and Crowder also were called for technicals for the mini scuffle that ensued.
Thomas then was caught swiping up at DeRozan and was called for a Flagrant 1 foul of his own.
As for the scoreboard, the Raptors had a much better second quarter offensively with 27 points, but the Celtics took a 55-45 lead into the break. DeRozan led all scorers in the first half with 19 points, while Thomas led the Celtics with 11 points. Brown was the only other scorer in double figures with 10 points.
HERE COME THE RAPTORS?
The Raptors closed the first half on a 7-0 run, and their success continued early in the third quarter. Following the Thomas Flagrant 1 foul, Toronto went on a 20-4 run and crept to within one point at 59-58. Ibaka then gave the Raptors a 65-63 lead, their first advantage since it was 6-4 very early on, with a 3-pointer. However, Boston closed the quarter on a mini 7-0 spurt and took a 77-74 edge into the final 12 minutes. DeRozan kept on scoring at will, as he had 31 points through three quarters.
The Celtics went up by as much as eight early in the fourth quarter on a Thomas 3-pointer, but the Raptors fought their way back and tied it at 88-88 on a DeRozan basket with 4:35 remaining. Carroll then gave Toronto back the lead at 93-91, and the Raptors never gave it up. Toronto outscored Boston 33-20 in the final frame.
PLAY(S) OF THE GAME
James Young?
And IT.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will stay on the road for one more game on their current trip, as they’ll travel to Detroit for a matchup with the Pistons on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports Images