Raptors vs Celtics Full Game Highlights 10/25/2019 NBA Season 2019-2020
CELTICS 112, RAPTORS 106 Observations from the Celtics’ 112-106 win over the Raptors The Celtics bounced back from their season-opening loss and grabbed a 112-106 win over the Raptors at TD Garden on Friday night. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led Boston with 25 points apiece and Kemba Walker added 22. ■ The Celtics once again closed with their “best five” lineup, which includes starters Tatum, Brown, Walker, Gordon Hayward, and sixth man Marcus Smart. This group’s obvious shortfall is, well, its size. But that didn’t stop it from grabbing two key offensive rebounds on the final two possessions of the game, one by Walker and one by Hayward. That was the theme of the night for the Celtics, as they pounded the boards and grabbed 21 offensive rebounds and held a 21-2 edge in second-chance points. Those second chances were pretty important, because at the other end the Raptors were not missing. Toronto made 18 of 36 3-point attempts. ■ Walker and coach Brad Stevens mostly shrugged off the former All-Star’s 4-for-18 performance against the 76ers, but the cold streak rolled into Friday’s game against Toronto. Walked was just 1 for 9 in the first half, the lone made shot coming on a fast-break layup. During one particularly confounding stretch, he missed a relatively easy shot inside and then had the ball knocked back to him for an even easier one, and it slid off the rim, leading to some groans. But there was no way this miniature rut would last much longer, and it did not. Walker caught fire early in the fourth quarter. During a stretch of less than three minutes he hit a pull-up, took a charge, drilled a three, attacked for a pair of layups, and then made two free throws. ■ Brown was slowed mightily by foul trouble on Wednesday and on Friday he reminded everyone what he is capable of when he stays on the court. Brown attacked the rim with power in the first half and did a solid job defending Pascal Siakam at the other end. He provided the highlight of the first half when he soared in for a dunk on a behind-the-back pass from Tatum. Tatum took 22 shots, the second-highest total of his career. He made 8 of them, but Celtics coaches have to be pleased with his shot profile so far. ■ Coaches’ challenges are going to kind of be a time-wasting pain this season. But let the record show that Stevens won his first one. With a second left in the first half, Grant Williams charged toward Marc Gasol in the right corner and was whistled for a foul as he soared past him. Stevens quickly challenged the play, and the officials agreed with him that no foul had been committed. The half ended with a harmless jump ball and Boston took a 50-49 lead to the break. ■ Daniel Theis started in place of Enes Kanter, who is expected to miss at least two games with a knee contusion. Then he suffered an apparent left ankle injury with 8:13 left in the second quarter. He immediately limped off the court and headed to the locker room. It looked like Boston’s frontcourt depth was sure to take a hit, but the Celtics said at halftime that Theis was available to return. An Atlantic Division battle is on tap between the new-look Boston Celtics and the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors at 7 p.m. ET on Friday at TD Garden. Boston is 0-1, while Toronto is 1-0. Boston is favored by 2.5 points in the latest Celtics vs. Raptors odds, while the uver-under is set at 213.5. This will be Boston's home opener and the first of four meetings between the teams. Before entering any Raptors vs. Celtics picks Boston had to start their season on the road, and it took a hard 107-93 fall at Philadelphia in the season opener on Wednesday. Point guard Kemba Walker finished with only 12 points in 34 minutes in his Boston debut. Walker, the Celtics' prized free agent acquisition, missed 14 of 18 shots from the floor. He'll look to bounce back in front of the home crowd as part of a revamped Celtics team that lost four of its top seven scorers from last year. Boston signed Walker to a four-year, $141 million contract during the offseason. Gordon Hayward led the Celtics with 25 points in the opening defeat. Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Toronto held off New Orleans on Tuesday in its first game,130-122. Point guard Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 34 points, shooting 5-for-7 from 3-point range with seven assists and five rebounds. Power forward Pascal Siakam also finished with 34 points and 18 rebounds as he and VanVleet stepped forward to begin life in Toronto without departed NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Siakam was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2018-19 season.
