Jayson Tatum had a double-double as the undermanned Boston Celtics held off the Toronto Raptors 111-101 on Tuesday.
Tatum had 19 points, 11 assists and six rebounds as Boston (42-16) won its sixth straight game. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and pulled down five rebounds.
Forward Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and point guard Jrue Holiday (rest) didn’t play. Porzingis was a late scratch and Holiday had a planned night off as the Celtics were playing the first game of a back-to-back.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga led Toronto (18-40) with 22 points and eight rebounds. Scottie Barnes added 21 points and six assists.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said before the game that centre Jakob Poeltl was “very close” to returning to the lineup. Poeltl (right hip pointer) hasn’t played since Feb. 4.
Rookie Jonathan Mogbo got the start in Poeltl’s stead.
TAKEAWAYS
Celtics: Guard Payton Pritchard came off Boston’s bench for 20 points and seven rebounds, making up for Porzingis and Holiday being unavailable. He helped the Celtics reserves score 32 points.
Raptors: Despite woeful three-point shooting throughout the game, Toronto hung in, even taking a brief one-point lead in the second quarter. The Raptors managed that by an impressively efficient game from in close, going 37-for-50 (74%) on two-point field goals.
KEY MOMENT
Barrett and reserve guard Jamal Shead made back-to-back field goals to pull Toronto to within seven points with a little over four minutes to play. Boston responded with a 9-6 run to seal the victory.
KEY STAT
The Raptors went 8 for 8 on three-point attempts to close out their 127-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Toronto was 0 for 11 from beyond the arc to start Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Celtics, and finished the game 5 for 33 (15.2%) from three-point range.
UP NEXT
The Raptors immediately travelled to Indiana after the game to play the Pacers on Wednesday. Boston went to Detroit to face the Pacers, also on Wednesday.