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Game Rap: Raptors 109 Celtics 96

Jay Satur - Raptors.com

It Was Over When....

Are the Raptors out of their slump? That remains to be seen, but Saturday's home win over the rebuilding Celtics to end their season-long four-game losing streak was undoubtedly a step in the right direction. After a shaky start against Boston, the Raptors flipped the proverbial switch defensively midway through the second quarter before creating some separation out of the locker room after halftime.

The decisive stretch came with the Raptors trailing the Celtics 55-53 with 8:43 to go in the third. Toronto proceeded to build a double-digit advantage with a 15-2 run that ballooned to 17 point by the end of the quarter after a Patrick Patterson putback off window to beat the buzzer. The Celtics would open the fourth on a 12-3 run to pull within eight, but the Raptors regained control and went on to build their largest lead of the game (20) en route to their 25th win.

The Game Changer

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Head coach Dwane Casey had suggested change might be in store for his starting five against the Celtics and true to his word, James Johnson got the nod over Landry Fields on Saturday. The least disruptive change to the rotation resulted in what was quite possibly Johnson's finest game of the season with the versatile forward contributing his second double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds) to go with four assists and two more blocks to add to his team-leading total of 41.

"He can guard the bigger wings, he can block shots, he can handle the ball, he gives us another ball handler," said Casey. "We knew that with James. He's a talented young man. He gives us a lot of different things... also he got what? Ten rebounds, which was huge for us."

The Underrated Raptor

First-quarter foul trouble didn't derail Jonas Valanciunas, who responded out of the break with strong performance on the interior that helped change the tenor of the game. Valanciunas scored eight points in the third frame to go with three of his seven rebounds and two of his three blocks on the night -- his first swats since racking up a pair against the Pistons at The Palace back on December 19th.

"Jonas was big time," said Casey post-game. "The only time he got in trouble was when they started spacing us for the threes at the end, but all between that he was dominating the boards and being a physical presence and setting good screens for Kyle [Lowry] in pick-and-roll situations."

That's A Rap

"They still shot 47 per cent but I thought our defensive mojo was back. I saw guys moving their feet, cracking down, rebounding, and doing the things we needed to do with activity and with anticipation. I thought the energy and the effort has been there.  The focus, anticipation, next move, next play, understanding what they are trying to do to you, and being locked in on it, and I thought that was there tonight. It hasn’t been the last few games and they made some big shots, some tough shots, but we made them earn it and that’s what you ask for with your defensive activity." - Head coach Dwane Casey, on what was working in the Raptors' win

By The Numbers

.532 - Raptors shooting percentage in the second half after shooting .364 in the first two quarters

10 - Blocks from the Raptors -- matching a season high

6 - Players that finished in double figures scoring for the Raptors

15 - Raptors offensive rebounds, which lead to 20 second-chance points

4 - Consecutive wins for the Raptors over the Celtics

They Said It

"They’re at a different level than we are right now and we need to look at them as a team that we can learn a lot from. We need to play better if we want a chance to win against a team of that caliber in this building." - Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, on his team's loss

"He covers up a lot of mistakes. He covers a lot of floor and a lot of ground. His effort has been unbelievable this season and we need him to keep it up. We love his energy and we love his enthusiastic nature and what he has been bringing to the table.” - Kyle Lowry, on what James Johnson brings to the table

"We were just tired of it. Everybody buckled in, everybody took responsibility for what they were doing and we started playing Toronto Raptors defence." - James Johnson, on Toronto's second-quarter turnaround

Up Next

The Raptors get another look at the Pistons, who have undergone a familiar makeover since Toronto's 110-100 road win at The Palace back on December 19th. Detroit would lose their next game to the Nets, waive forward Josh Smith the following day and have gone 8-1 since.