Celtics-Raptors Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 05 2013 6:18PM

While many expected the Boston Celtics to fall off the map after losing Rajon Rondo to a season-ending injury, they've instead picked up the pace in a big way.

The Celtics hit the road seeking a fifth consecutive win Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors, who could have Andrea Bargnani available for the first time in nearly two months.

Sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, Boston (24-23) has yet to lose since Rondo tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The Celtics have averaged 100.5 points - 5.0 more than their season mark - during the four-game win streak.

They're averaging 24.8 assists in that span, even better than their season mark (23.2), despite being without the league leader in that category. Rondo was handing out 11.1 per game.

"I'll tell you the truth, I didn't even know we won four in a row. I just know that we have been moving the basketball, playing as hard as (we can)," said Kevin Garnett, whose team had dropped six straight before this run. "The normalcy of not having him here is starting to set in, so guys kind of know that they are going to play and being prepared for that.

"We're going to take it one game at a time and continue to ... consolidate that responsibility through everybody."

The Celtics did just that in Sunday's 106-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. At least five Boston players scored in double figures for the third straight game as Paul Pierce led the way with 22, including a clutch 3-pointer to put Boston up five with three seconds left.

"A lot of people say that we don't have a chance to go to the playoffs, we can't do this, we can't do that," guard Avery Bradley said. "We know we have each other and we're going to go out there and fight for each other, no matter what, every single night."

Boston has taken 18 of 22 in this series, including a 107-89 win Nov. 17 in the only meeting this season behind Rondo's 20 assists. The Celtics, though, have dropped three of four in Canada, including losses in their last two visits while averaging 76.5 points.

The last-place Raptors (17-31) have dropped nine of 12 but could get a boost from Bargnani, who has missed 26 games since tearing an elbow ligament Dec. 10. The former No. 1 overall pick was averaging 16.0 points, and while it may take him some time to get back into the swing of things, he could eventually form a potent 1-2 punch with recently acquired Rudy Gay.

Gay, who came over from Memphis in a three-team trade last week, led the Raptors to a 98-73 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers with 20 points off the bench in his team debut Friday. He scored a season-high 29 two nights later in a 100-85 loss to Miami.

"I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent comfortable," said Gay, averaging 20.9 points over his last nine games versus Boston. "I'm still feeling my way out there. I still think this is a game we could've won. We still have a couple things to iron out in practice."

DeMar DeRozan, who had 27 points against the Heat while going a career-best 14 for 14 from the free-throw line, is averaging 23.3 in his last three home matchups against the Celtics.

Boston has dropped three straight road games and 11 of 14.

Garnett scores 27 as Celtics beat Raptors 99-95

By IAN HARRISON
Posted Feb 06 2013 11:14PM

TORONTO (AP) Jason Terry scored only two points. Still, he made a big contribution to Boston's latest win with a pep talk before the fourth quarter.

Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 27 points with 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and the Celtics won their fifth straight game by beating the Toronto Raptors 99-95 on Wednesday night.

Courtney Lee added 15 points, Leandro Barbosa had 14, Avery Bradley 11 and Brandon Bass 10 as the Celtics remained unbeaten since losing guard Rajon Rondo to a season-ending knee injury.

Garnett scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics rallied from a 10-point deficit to snap a two-game skid in Toronto. Boston had lost three of its last four in Canada.

"We're fighters," Garnett said. "We're a team that's going to compete for 48 minutes. It's not always pretty. We're not perfect, we're human beings. But we play hard, we do our best to go out and try to perfect the game plan."

Boston's turnaround came after Terry harangued his teammates for their sloppy play through three quarters.

"His message was simple," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "`The ball will find the open guy. You don't have to dribble around and create your own shot. We've got enough scoring. Space the floor and play together.' And I think that's what we did."

Terry teamed with Garnett, Pierce, Barbosa and Jeff Green as the Celtics went small in the fourth to engineer their comeback.

"It felt like we didn't have the pace we wanted all game long until that fourth quarter," Pierce said. "Once we picked the pace up we got the lead and were able to win the game."

The victory also ended a three-game road losing streak for the Celtics, who had dropped 11 of 14 away from home.

"This is a good win for us because we didn't have it at stages," Rivers said. "We just kind of kept looking for the right lineup, the right group."

It was Rivers' 400th win with Boston, making him just the third Boston coach to reach that mark. Only Tom Heinsohn (427) and Red Auerbach (910) have more victories with the Celtics.

"That's cool," Rivers said. "To be behind those two guys is pretty special for me."

Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 25 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Kyle Lowry scored 17 and Amir Johnson had 16 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto lost for the 10th time in 13 games.

Andrea Bargnani returned after missing 26 games with a torn ligament in his right elbow to score 13 points for the Raptors.

"He gave us some good minutes," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "I thought he wore down a little bit and I didn't want to wear him down too much."

DeMar DeRozan also scored 13, making five of 16 field goal attempts.

Trailing 79-69 to begin the fourth, Boston tied it with a 10-0 run. Barbosa completed a three-point play, Garnett hit a layup, Terry made a pull-up jumper and Garnett tied it with a three-point play of his own.

"He had it going so we wanted to milk that," Pierce said, referring to Garnett. "He's been phenomenal in this stretch and he carried us tonight offensively."

Alan Anderson stopped the run with a layup but the Celtics reclaimed the lead when Barbosa hit a 3-pointer, then was fouled while making a layup on the next possession. Barbosa missed the free throw, but Boston led 86-85 with 5:50 to go.

Pierce made two from the line and Garnett followed with a layup, giving the Celtics a 90-85 edge with 4:02 left.

Gay tipped in a rebound with 42 seconds remaining, cutting it to 96-93, but Green made one of two from the line to put the Celtics up by four with 17 seconds left.

"We had some defensive letdowns that we couldn't come back from," Gay said.

Gay scored eight points in the first and DeRozan added six as the Raptors led 23-20 after one. Bargnani scored 11 in the second but Boston got 10 from Pierce and eight from Garnett to lead 50-45 at halftime.

The Raptors took advantage after Garnett picked up his fourth foul with 6:48 remaining in the third and was replaced by Jason Collins. Toronto led 73-69 with 43 seconds left when Gay hit a 3, then forced a steal off the resulting inbounds pass and fed DeRozan for a dunk. DeRozan was fouled on the play and made the free throw to put the Raptors up 79-69 heading into the fourth. Gay scored 13 points in the third while Lowry had 10.

"I didn't like how we played most of the game," Rivers said. "We just kind of hung in there."

NOTES: Toronto F Landry Fields (back spasms) missed his second straight game. ... The Raptors went 13-13 without Bargnani. ... Gay's double-double was his first since joining the Raptors from Memphis in a three-team trade last week. ... Boston had at least five players score in double figures for the fourth straight game. ... Toronto had 12 steals, one shy of its season high. ... The Celtics host the Lakers on Thursday night.

Notebook: Celtics 99, Raptors 95

Duane Watson, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:02 PM - Updated Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:02 PM

THE FACTS: The Boston Celtics grinded out their sixth win in a row, defeating the Toronto Raptors 99-95 at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. The game was decided in the final two minutes by the hand of ex-Raptor Leandro Barbosa, who off the bench, scored 12 of his 14 points in the final quarter. Kevin Garnett led the Celtics (25-23) with a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Courtney Lee added 15 points. Paul Pierce had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, with six assists and Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Celtics ended the first half strong, taking a 50-45 lead into halftime. Yet the Raptors (17-32) responded in the third quarter with 34 points, behind Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry's 13 and 10 points respectively, to take a 17-4 run to close the quarter for a 79-69 lead. Boston started the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run to tie the game 81-81, with 7:58 left. Only two minutes later they would take the lead for good, but didn't seal the win until Barbosa's 3' floater found the net putting the Celtics up 94-89 with 1:47 left in the game. The Raptors then proceeded to miss six of their next field goals.

Toronto was led by Gay's double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds. Lowry added 17 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Amir Johnson also had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani in his first game after missing 26 games due to a right elbow injury scored 13 points off the bench. The Raptors have lost two in a row at home and five of their last six games.

QUOTABLE: "We're fighters, we're a team that's going to compete for 48 minutes. It's not always pretty and we're not perfect, we're human beings and we play hard."

-- Kevin Garnett

THE STAT: The Celtics turned over the ball 14 times leading to 28 points off turnovers. The Raptors were able to capitalize, but not by enough. The true number lies in Barbosa's 12 points off the bench in the fourth quarter.

TURNING POINT: Barbosa's 3' floater found the net putting the Celtics up 94-89 with 1:47 left in the game. It was a key basket breaking the Raptors momentum as they proceeded to miss six of their next field goals.

QUOTABLE II: "I decided to be a little bit more aggressive, just try to help the team and it worked really well. KG knocked down some important shots, Jeff Green did a great job on the defensive standpoint and it brought a victory for us."

-- Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa on his play in the fourth quarter

NOTABLE: The Celtics have now won six games in a row without Rajon Rondo to a season-ending ACL injury. ... Barbosa played in his first game in Toronto since being traded last March. He appeared in 100 games over two seasons, averaging 12.8 points per game. ... Bargnani returned to the line-up after missing 26 games with a right elbow injury. ... Landry Fields didn't dress for the Raptors, due to back spasms. With the win, coach Doc Rivers recorded his 400th win with the Celtics, he's third on that list behind Red Auerbach and Tommy Heinsohn.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Friday @ Indiana, Sunday vs. New Orleans, Tuesday vs. Denver. For the Celtics, Thursday vs. Lakers, Sunday vs. Denver and Monday @ Charlotte.

• Celtics: Sullinger
• Raptors: Fields, Haddadi

• Celtics: Rivers
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 16

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #47 Bennie Adams, #26 Pat Fraher, #70 Brent Barnaky
• Attendance: 17163
• Duration: 2:23