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New-Look Raps Oust C’s with Defensive Toughness

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TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors greatly improved their defense last week by adding Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker before the trade deadline.

The Boston Celtics got the first taste of Toronto’s new-look rotation Friday night, and it was a sour one from their perspective.

The Raps overcame a 17-point deficit and held Boston to just 42 second-half points, en route to a 107-97 win at Air Canada Centre.

Ibaka and Tucker were the ones who spearheaded Toronto’s strong defensive effort, thanks to their versatility and overall defensive intensity.

Ibaka, who was dealt from the Orlando Magic, finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds. Tucker, who came by way of the Phoenix Suns, logged game-highs in rebounds (10) and steals (three). With All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry sidelined due to a wrist injury, the pair of newcomers gave Toronto the spark it needed to slow down a Celtics team that entered the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in the league.

“They bring a different type of toughness to that team,” Marcus Smart said of the additions of Ibaka and Tucker “Especially with Lowry being out, they needed that. Tucker – everybody knows how aggressive he is – he got those 50-50 balls that we needed. Ibaka, blocking shots and doing what he does, so they helped those guys a lot.”

Ibaka and Tucker weren’t nearly as impactful during the first half, while they adjusted on the fly to their new surroundings. Boston sprinted out of the starting blocks to a 29-18 lead after one quarter, and held a 55-45 advantage over the Raptors at halftime.

Toronto, however, came out of the break on a roll and completely flattened the Celtics’ offensive production from there on out.

“The whole second half they came out aggressive and we didn’t respond like we should have,” said Smart, who finished with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench. “We were nonchalant on the offensive end. We weren’t sticking to our roots on the defensive end. They were beating us to every 50/50 ball, and that’s not the team we are. So we gotta fix that.”

The Raptors also found a way to slow down Isaiah Thomas. They showed him many different looks throughout the game, and were constantly switching and applying pressure. As a result, IT was held to just four fourth-quarter points and 20 total points on the night.

“Every time I came off a pick, they had two or three guys on me,” said Thomas. “Their point of emphasis was probably to stop me in the fourth quarter. And they did a good job of that.”

Friday’s game marked Boston’s fourth and final regular season meeting with Toronto, but these squads could certainly find themselves facing off again in the Playoffs.

If that happens, the Celtics must find a way to adjust to the Raptors’ defensive toughness, which has been enhanced by the additions of Ibaka and Tucker.

“I think those guys that they added make a huge difference in their ability to play smaller and still be as strong and versatile,” said Stevens. “So we’re going to have to execute a lot better than we did and we’re going to have to play a lot better than we did. We can’t let a loose ball bounce in front of us and not dive on it – which happened on a couple of occasions – and expect to win.”