Toronto Raptors @ Boston Celtics
Friday, December 29, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA | Game ID: 22300432
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 35 33 31 21 120TOR 20 33 33 32 118
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Brown scores 31 points, sets up Kornet's tiebreaking basket as Celtics beat Raptors 120-118
BOSTON -- — Jaylen Brown returned from a one-game absence to score 31 points and fed Luke Kornet for the tiebreaking basket as the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 120-118 on Friday night.
After Scottie Barnes tied the game at 116 with a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining, Boston found Kornet for a dunk with 32 seconds left. Boston’s lead stood at 119-117 when Barnes drove down the lane but couldn’t finish. Down three after replay determined that a foul occurred before the final horn, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam went to the line with 1.4 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second as the Celtics melted away the remaining time.
“The goal was to make the first and miss the second and go for the offensive rebound and try to win it right there,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said.
Brown, who missed Boston’s overtime win Thursday that sent the Detroit Pistons to a record-tying 28th straight loss because of a back injury, swished 3-pointers on three straight possessions in the first quarter. The All-Star guard shot 5 of 6 from beyond the arc and also grabbed 10 rebounds.
“I definitely feel that I’ve grown and improved, for sure, but (in terms of the game) slowing down for me? Maybe that’s not the right word. I want to play fast,” Brown said.
Brown took a knee to his back during Boston’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. He downplayed the significance of the injury after Friday’s game, chalking it up to a contusion.
“As I got on the court and moved around, (the stiffness) went away,” Brown said. “I’m feeling all right.”
Derrick White finished with 21 points while Kornet added 20 for Boston, which committed 16 turnovers that led to 22 points for Toronto.
The Celtics, who were without starters Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis along with key reserve Al Horford , improved to 16-0 at home and own the league’s best record (25-6). Boston won its fifth straight and 10th game in 11 tries.
“It’s the NBA. Each night is different with different guys in the lineup,” White said. “The more ways we can find to win, the better it will make us in the long run.”
Kornet appeared in his first game since Dec. 4 and made his first start of the season.
“I said to the locker room before the game that it was another opportunity. I didn’t care who we were playing against. I have complete trust and confidence in the character of our locker room because of who they are. I think we can win any game no matter what,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Luke shows up every game and plays his role. It was awesome to watch him play at the level that he did.”
Boston led by 15 at halftime and was up by double figures entering the fourth quarter. When Dennis Schroder nailed a 3 from the right wing, Toronto had its first lead since the first quarter at 104-102 with 8:18 remaining.
Barnes led Toronto with 30 points on 7-of-15 from 3, while Siakam scored 28. Boston has won all three meetings this season against Toronto.
UP NEXT
Raptors: At Detroit on Saturday night for the finale of a three-game road trip.
TOR KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
TORCB C. Boucher
DS D. Schröder
GT G. Trent Jr.
JM J. McDaniels
JP J. Poeltl
MF M. Flynn
OA O. Anunoby
OP O. Porter Jr.
PA P. Achiuwa
PS P. Siakam
SB S. Barnes
SC Schroder
BOSDB D. Banton
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
LK L. Kornet
NQ N. Queta
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
SM S. Mykhailiuk
TOR/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur