With diligence and seriousness, the Celtics did the job last night, during the reception of the Raptors, in order to preserve their invincibility at home. Toronto only resisted in the first half before cracking for good upon returning from the locker room.
There was the show led by the Holiday-Porzingis tandem at the start of the game before Jayson Tatum gave the locals a short lead at the end of the first quarter (30-26), then a 10-0 marked by two baskets 3-pointer from Sam Hauser to start the second quarter and already embarrass the Canadian team (40-26).
Toronto tried to hang on, but the 3-pointers from the Schroder-Flynn-Barnes trio and the last two baskets from Jakob Poeltl before the break only delayed the deadline (55-46).
The Celtics accelerate at the right time
To put the Canadians out of harm’s way, Boston picked up the tempo as soon as they returned from the locker room by going 11-2 with once again Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis putting on the show. The Latvian notably offered himself an alley-oop sent by his leader and a ready-made dunk in transition (66-50).
The former Wizards interior was then accompanied by Jaylen Brown in his demolition business. Skillful from afar but also incisive in the paint, the guard/winger notably raised the temperature with a masterful tap dunk helping to relegate Toronto to more than 20 points (88-66).
To finish the job properly, Boston used the same method as in the previous two quarters with a big start, a 15-2 which this time knocked out the Raptors for good, with two 3-point baskets in quick succession. shot from Jayson Tatum, and two more huge dunks from Jaylen Brown to bring the score to 103-73! This time, the mass was said and Joe Mazzulla quickly opened his bench for the last five minutes without much interest in a match that the C’s were able to facilitate by their commitment over 48 minutes.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A one-sided match. Winners of each quarter, the Celtics left practically nothing to their evening opponent. We could bring out numerous figures to highlight the domination of the C’s, between the fight won on the rebound (47 to 36), the points registered in the racket (60 to 42), the maximum gap increased to +30 or again the 30 assists accumulated by the locals. But if there were only one stat left, it would probably be the +42 (!) passed by Boston when Jayson Tatum was on the field. In 34 minutes spent on the field, the winger helped his team pound the Raptors relentlessly until Joe Mazzulla whistled the end of recess five minutes from time.
– A “challenge” that goes badly. Joe Mazzulla was a little overzealous in asking for a “challenge” less than four minutes from time when the score was 113-86, after a duel between Chris Boucher and O’Shae Brissett which ended with a ball kick. . While the referees had returned the ball to Toronto, the Celtics coach asked for a video check, which ruled in his favor, which had the gift of exasperating the Raptors. ” It is disrespectful “launched Dennis Schroder after the meeting, even if Joe Mazzulla defended his choice after the meeting. “At the end of the day, my responsibility goes first to the players. It was a clear opportunity for me to show the players that I coach them.” he explained.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
