Celtics outmatch Raptors, 112-96

The Celtics, powered by Payton Pritchard's 33 points and a dominating rebounding performance, took down the Raptors 112-96 on Saturday night. 

Boston owned the glass, out-rebounding Toronto 55-37, and also lived in the paint with 54 points down low. Luka Garza was impressive in his first appearance in five games, snagging nine offensive rebounds while also pouring in 12 points.

After a sluggish second quarter found the Celtics early double-digit lead evaporate, Pritchard resurrected it in the third, scoring a career-high 19 third quarter points. 

The win allowed Boston to jump Toronto in the Eastern Conference, moving up to third place at 17-11. 

With Brown out with an illness, the Celtics were feeling their way through the early portions of the first. Pritchard carried most of the offensive load early in the first quarter, hitting two threes to pour in eight points. 

The Raptors, who were also without some of their top scorers in RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl, leaned on Sandro Mamukelashvili to contribute from deep with a pair of early triples. 

Boston really hit its stride when Joe Mazzulla went to his bench, specifically with Garza. The bench sparked a 16-0 run to close out the first quarter, with Garza sweating effort, especially on the offensive glass. In just five minutes, the big man scored six points and snagged five offensive rebounds. 

The Cs spread the ball around for most of that quarter, with seven different scorers finding the bottom of the basket. 

Similarly to Boston’s last game in Toronto, it couldn’t hold onto its double-digit lead for very long. When the offense went quiet, the Raptors heated up, running out on a big 23-8 run to end the second quarter. Boston could only muster 17 points in the frame, with no Celtics finishing in double figures. 

Brandon Ingram was the lead scorer for Toronto in the first half, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting. 

With the Celtics trying to shake off a miserable second quarter, Pritchard opened the third quarter strong and stayed red hot to carry Boston. While Mamukelashvili also continued his strong night, nailing two more triples to extend Toronto’s lead to seven. 

From there Pritchard took over, finishing the third with 19 points which matches his career high for any quarter. The guard also dished it out to, using some strong ball handling to create open looks for the likes of Sam Hauser (six points). Pritchard finished the night with 10 assists. 

Boston’s second unit, who Mazzulla leaned on a lot more throughout Saturday night, was excellent once again to begin the fourth. Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez and Garza all made impact hustle plays in the fourth frame. Whether it was Scheierman drawing a charge, Garza snagging nine offensive rebounds or Gonzalez scoring eight and grabbing eight rebounds, the bench stepped up when Boston needed it too. 

The bench performing well also helped aid Derrick White, who struggled mightily offensively through three quarters, shooting 2-for-13. He turned that around completely when the Cs needed him too, pouring in nine-straight points. 

With the lead back up to double digits, Boston cruised the rest of the way, outsourcing Toronto 29-16 in the fourth to leapfrog it in the Eastern Conference rankings. 

Next up for the Celtics is the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at the TD Garden. Tip off set for 7:30 p.m.