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(TORONTO)Ray Allen scored 33 points, including a huge three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in overtime, to lift the Boston Celtics 98-95 over the Toronto Raptors Sunday.

Kevin Garnett added 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul Pierce finished with 13 points in the defensive battle between Atlantic Division rivals.

T.J. Ford scored 32 points to top Toronto in the team's first loss of the season, while Chris Bosh finished with 19 and Jason Kapono added 10.

Garnett dominated the overtime period with 10 points, his hook shot over Bosh giving Boston a four-point lead with 23 seconds left. Baskets by Bosh and Ford cut the Celtics' lead to a point with 7.8 seconds on the clock, but Eddie House connected on a pair of free throws, then Allen sunk the three that secured the win for Boston (2-0).

The Raptors (2-1) appeared flustered and disorganized in the early going Sunday, shooting just 27 per cent in the first half and looking little like the team that had laid a 37-point shellacking on New Jersey two nights earlier.

Big men Bosh and Bargnani weren't much help on the offensive end early on, going a combined 0-12 in the first half.

The Raptors trailed Boston 66-55 going to the fourth quarter, but started to eat away at the Celtics' lead, a long jumper by Kapono tying the game 72-72 with 3:23 left. With Boston leading by two points, and the sellout crowd of 19,800 on its feet, Ford scored on a driving layup with 27 seconds left to tie the game 78-78, then Pierce missed badly on Boston's last shot to send the game into extra time.

Bargnani, who topped Toronto in the first two games of the season, finished with just nine points on 2-for-13 shooting.

The Raptors shot just 37 per cent on the night. Both teams grabbed 42 rebounds.

The much-hyped Celtics have been touted as the team to beat in the Atlantic Division after picking up Garnett from Minnesota and Allen from Seattle in the off-season to help out Pierce, making for a star-studded lineup.

``You're talking about these three guys probably being in their prime as far as intelligence as a basketball player, athletically and understanding how to play the game,'' Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of Boston's Big 3. ``These three guys are in their prime probably for the next three, three-and-a-half years.''

Allen's three-pointer in overtime made it 17,000 career points for the Celtics star guard.

The Raptors missed nine of their first 10 shots Sunday to quickly fall behind by 10 points. Bargnani was 0-for-6 in the first quarter and the Raptors shot just 27 per cent to trail the Celtics 23-14 heading into the second.

Toronto opened the second with an 8-0 run, a three by Delfino cutting the Celtics' lead to 23-22. The Raptors shooting woes continued though, and the Celtics took a 38-31 lead into halftime.

Bargnani scored all nine of his points in the third, as the Raptors managed to cut Boston's lead to three points, But the Celtics rallied to lead 66-55 with a quarter left to play.

NOTES: The Raptors placed forward Joey Graham on the inactive list, and activated forward Jamario Moon. ... Celtics associate coach Tom Thibodeau took over coaching duties in the absence of Doc Rivers. The head coach flew to Chicago earlier in the day after the death of his father. ... The Raptors are at Milwaukee on Tuesday, then return home to host Orlando on Wednesday. ... Boston edged Toronto 89-85 in a pre-season game in Rome.