
BOSTON — Semi Ojeleye had a career-high 24 points and six 3-pointers, and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 120-106 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
Rookie Payton Pritchard added 20 points and had a career-high six 3s to help Boston snap a two-game skid.
The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 19, thanks in part to a season-high 20 3-pointers.
Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 24 points and six assists. Pascal Siakam finished with 23 points for Toronto, which was coming off a win at Washington a night earlier.
Toronto cut what had been a 15-point deficit to 98-93 with 6:21 remaining. But the Celtics used a 15-5 run to take control down the stretch.
The Raptors played without OG Anunoby (left calf strain) for the ninth straight game but still managed to dominate in the paint, where they outscored the Celtics 58-32.
But Boston’s second unit was strong throughout and, led by Pritchard, outscored its bench counterparts 38-31.
Toronto cut an early 11-point deficit to a point early in the second quarter but struggled to keep pace with Boston’s 3-point shooting. The Celtics connected on 12 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc in the half.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for just two points in the first quarter. They remained active in the offense, though, assisting on eight of Boston’s 12 field goals in the quarter. That helped the Celtics sprint out to a 15-4 lead and take a 34-29 edge into the second quarter.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Yuka Watanabe (left ankle sprain) sat for the second consecutive night. But Coach Nick Nurse said he anticipates both Anunoby and Watanabe to return Sunday against Detroit.
Celtics: Ojeleye and Pritchard are the first pair in Celtics franchise history to make at least six 3-pointers in the same game. … Marcus Smart missed his sixth straight game with a left calf tear.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less