Ten minutes of fire, then nothing
Toronto looked unstoppable for a quarter. The Raptors hit 10 of their 18 three-point attempts in the opening period overnight and stretched the lead to 22 points in the second, at 59-37. Boston, playing without Paul George, seemed headed for a rare loss.
It ended 98-93 to the Celtics. After that 59-37 mark, Toronto scored 34 points the rest of the way, a collapse as sharp as the start had been hot.
George sat out sick, one night after scoring 36 points in Philadelphia. The Celtics had to find offense somewhere else.
no renewal
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Tatum’s bad night, decisive finish
The turn came with a 16-0 run, and Jayson Tatum scored the first ten points of it himself. It was not his sharpest game. He finished 6 of 21 from the field and 2 of 11 from deep. But with 25 seconds left, he stepped to the line, made both free throws, tied the game with the first and put Boston ahead with the second.
Derrick White led the supporting cast with 19 points and Payton Pritchard added 14. Boston has now won five straight, moves to 10-2 and keeps first place in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto slips below .500
For the Raptors, the loss carries a symbolic weight. At 5-6, Toronto has a losing record for the first time this season. The absences are piling up: Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes were both out again, and the depth showed once the early shooting cooled.
A 22-point lead is not supposed to vanish at home. Toronto now has to figure out how to hold games together until its two best players return.
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