Celtics extend hot stretch, extinguish Raptors’ win streak
Payton Pritchard had a game-high 27 points along with five rebounds and eight assists to help the host Boston Celtics defeat the short-handed Toronto Raptors 125-117 on Friday night.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who ended Toronto's three-game winning streak. Boston, which has won five of its last six, received five 3-pointers from Sam Hauser, who finished with 19 points.
The Raptors played without two of their top players as forward Brandon Ingram and forward Scottie Barnes both missed the game with injuries. Ingram sprained his thumb during Wednesday's 97-96 victory over Charlotte, and Barnes sustained a knee injury during the fourth quarter of that game.
Ingram is averaging a team-high 21.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Barnes is averaging 19.1 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds along with 5.2 assists.
Jakob Poeltl missed his ninth straight game with a back injury.
The Raptors received 19 points from both Ja'Kobe Walter and RJ Barrett. Walter made five 3-pointers. Immanuel Quickley added 17 points and 13 assists. Barrett, Toronto's second-leading scorer (19.6 ppg), injured his left ankle late in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Boston built a 12-point lead in the opening quarter and led 37-30 after 12 minutes. A Barrett 3-pointer gave Toronto its first lead, 47-46, but the Celtics used a 14-3 spurt to take a 60-50 lead. Boston was up 68-60 at halftime.
After Toronto scored the first five points in the third quarter, Boston scored 20 of the next 26 points to take an 88-71 lead. The Celtics extended their advantage to 20 in the third and led 97-86 with 12 minutes to play.
The Raptors cut their deficit to six with 5:17 left, but the Celtics went on an 8-0 spurt to take a 120-106 lead.
Friday's game was the teams' third meeting. Boston won 121-113 in Toronto on Dec. 7, and 112-96 in Toronto on Dec. 20.