After playing their fifth game in seven days on Friday, the Celtics emerged from a tiring stretch red hot.
“I thought we did a good job — tremendous job — of figuring out how to pull out wins,” said Payton Pritchard. “And then in these past two games, we kind of just put our foot on the gas and took care of business. I feel like our team is growing, and we’ve just got to keep growing and keep getting better.”
It’s time to put the recent results to the test against the Raptors.
Jordan Walsh is one reason for the Celtics’ surge. He shot 6-for-7 from the field on Friday and is shooting 18-for-19 over the past three games.
He had four 3-pointers and scored 17 points against the Lakers, adding two blocked shots and one steal in 26:17. He posted a team-high box plus/minus of +28.
“He’s been great,” Brown said. “I don’t want to boost his head up too much. I don’t want him to start getting cute. He’s got to still take care of the details. But he’s been doing a good job.”
Get Starting Point
Here’s the preview:
When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV, radio: NBCSB, WBZ-FM 98.5
Line: Boston -3.5. O/U: 224.5.
CELTICS
Season record: 14-9. vs. spread: 13-10. Over/under: 11-12
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 8-2. Over/under: 6-4
RAPTORS
Season record: 15-9. vs. spread: 10-13, 1 push. Over/under: 10-14
Last 10 games: 6-4. vs. spread: 3-7. Over/under: 3-7
TEAM STATISTICS
Points per game: Boston 117.1, Toronto 116.5
Points allowed per game: Boston 110.5, Toronto 113.5
Field goal percentage: Boston .473, Toronto .486
Opponent field goal percentage: Boston .444, Toronto .463
3-point percentage: Boston .366, Toronto .364
Opponent 3-point percentage: Boston .368, Toronto .328
Stat of the day: The Celtics have won nine of their last 11 games.
Notes: The Raptors have dropped four of five after losing 111-86 to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. The five games have come in a seven-day stretch starting Nov. 29 when they lost 118-111 in overtime at Charlotte to end their nine-game winning streak. … The Raptors are 1-2 to start a five-game homestand with the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday snapping an eight-game home winning streak. … This will be the first meeting between Boston and Toronto this season. The Celtics won three of four from the Raptors last season with the teams splitting two in Toronto. … Jakob Poeltl, who rested his back injury on Thursday, returned on Friday and had five points and seven rebounds. … RJ Barrett (sprained knee) remained out against Charlotte. Jamison Battle suffered a sprained left ankle early in the fourth quarter on Friday. X-rays were negative.
Cam Kerry can be reached at [email protected].
