5 Days of Celtics Games: Boston vs. Toronto

Overtime Heroics Editorial

1922 days ago

Ladies and gentlemen: welcome back to day two of ranking the top five Celtics games throughout the 2019-20 regular season. Previously, we looked at a late February matchup in Los Angeles where Boston took on the Lakers. Today, we will go back to Christmas day and recap the Celtics dominating win over the defending champions. The Celtics and Raptors have had many intense matchups in the past seasons, however back on December 25th, the game was in no way similar to the previous matchups. Boston beat Toronto by 16 points winning 118-102.

Celtics guard Kemba Walker (left) dribbles the ball past Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (right) during first half NBA action at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Wednesday, Dec 25, 2019.

Make sure to check out day one if you haven’t already!

Brown’s Dominate Performance

Although the Raptors jumped out to a 10-0 lead to begin the game, the Celtics quickly recovered and played well for the remainder of the contest. Jaylen Brown dominated the stat-sheet scoring 30 points on 10 of 13 shooting while draining five 3-pointers. Kemba Walker also added 22 points. “It was good to get a win here on Christmas,” Brown said following the game. The Celtics starting lineup dominated scoring 90 of the team’s 118 points. Gordon Hayward had 14 points, Daniel Theis had 13, and Jayson Tatum had 11. Despite Tatum’s poor shooting performance going 5 for 18 from the field, he added nine rebounds and six assists. Enes Kanter had 12 points and 11 rebounds coming off the bench.

Celtics Finally Grab a Win up North

At the time, Boston had lost their last eight games playing in Toronto. They became the first Atlantic Division team to win in Toronto in over four years. This win for the Celtics pushed their streak to four straight.

The Raptors were put at a huge disadvantage being without Pascal Siakam who was out with a groin injury, and it clearly showed. Fred VanVleet was the Toronto starter that scored more than 15 points, as he finished with 27. “We weren’t quite physical enough, I thought, for most stretches of the game,” Raptor’s coach Nick Nurse said following the team’s second straight loss.

Although the game was very one-sided for the most part, it was a great game to watch as a Celtics fan. Sure the Celtics have dominated many teams throughout the year, but this was a statement game for Boston as they took down the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Not to mention, it was a great Christmas present for the Celtics and their fans. Join me again next time for game No. 3 on my list where the Celtics take down one of the league’s top teams.

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