Raptors 96, Celtics 103

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Despite missing the game with an injury, Paul Pierce fires up the troops during the pre-game starting lineup announcements.
Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

Boston came out tonight with great hustle and energy, and when those characteristics were visible in the opening minutes there was a clear shot for this team to grab a victory despite their depleted roster. The Celtics and Raptors played pretty evenly throughout the first 19 minutes of the game, as indicated by Boston's two-point lead at the 5:08 mark of the second quarter, but the C's were able to pull away from that point on.

Eddie House began the key run with a 3-pointer and Kendrick Perkins added a layup to extend the lead to seven with 3:50 remaining in the first half. As the quarter came to a close, Boston pushed that lead up to 11 points with 1:19 remaining when Glen Davis slammed home a fast break dunk. The Celtics went into halftime with a 58-48 lead and it wasn't trimmed to less than five for the rest of the game.

Key Box Score Line

On a night where three Celtics starters were out of the lineup, Rasheed Wallace stepped up to the plate and delivered a solid all-around performance that aided the C's to a big victory. Sheed shot the ball well from the field, including a couple of pretty kisses off the glass, and also contrinuted to Boston's rebound and assist numbers.

Box Score Nuggets

• J.R. Giddens scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out an assist in his first career start. He was on the court for 20:23 of the game.
• Ray Allen scored a team-high 23 points.
• Kendrick Perkins finished with the only double-double of the game, with 14 points and 10 boards.
• Chris Bosh (25 points) and Andrea Bargnani (21 points) combined for 46 points against the Celtics' frontline.
• Boston racked up 26 assists tonight despite missing their starting point guard.
• Tony Allen, who started at point guard for the C's, finished with 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
• Jarrett Jack and Hedo Turkoglu both finished with seven assists to lead the Raptors.
• Both teams finished with 16 turnovers.
• The Celtics outscored Toronto in the paint by a count of 48-30.
• Boston made 25 of their 31 free throw attempts.

Quote of the Night

Chris Bosh on the Celtics' solid play despite missing three starters: "They're a good team. We're not a good team, especially on their home court. No matter who's playing, they execute their offense well."