Game ID: 22300432
Toronto Raptors @ Boston Celtics
Friday, December 29, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 35 33 31 21 120TOR 20 33 33 32 118
BOS vs TOR ScoutingBOS vs TOR Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 12/20 · back-to-backOUT Kornet missed 4 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 18 min since (165% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/15 after 2, 8 min since (75% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/23 · 2 days' restOUT Kornet missed 5 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 19 min since (166% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/15 after 2, 10 min since (96% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Kornet missed 6 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 19 min since (174% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/15 after 2, 12 min since (112% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/28 · 2 days' restOUT Kornet missed 7 since 12/14, out tonight
NEW Queta 11 to 17 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/29 · back-to-backOUT Kornet missed 8 since 12/14, returns tonight: 33 min (227% of 15)
NEW Queta 11 to 18 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 33 min since (227% of 15)
NEW Queta 11 to 17 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 25 min since (169% of 15)
BOS availability going into 1/05 · 2 days' restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 22 min since (146% of 15)
BOS availability going into 1/06 · back-to-backBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 19 min since (129% of 15)
TOR availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Freeman-Liberty missed 24 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 4 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Dick back 12/11 after 6, 4 min since (17% of 21)
BACK Young back 12/15 after 13, 3 min since (18% of 15)
BACK McDaniels back 12/15 after 4, 3 min since (25% of 11)
BACK Temple back 12/15 after 10, 3 min since (25% of 11)
TOR availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Dick missed 2 since 12/18, returns tonight: 2 min (11% of 21)
OUT Freeman-Liberty missed 25 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Young missed 2 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 5 since 12/11, returns tonight: 15 min (128% of 12)
OUT McDaniels missed 2 since 12/18, returns tonight: 2 min (21% of 11)
OUT Temple missed 2 since 12/18, out tonight
TOR availability going into 12/23 · back-to-backOUT Freeman-Liberty missed 26 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Young missed 3 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Temple missed 3 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Dick back 12/22 after 2, 2 min since (11% of 21)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/22 after 5, 15 min since (128% of 12)
BACK McDaniels back 12/15 after 4, 2 min since (23% of 11)
TOR availability going into 12/27 · 3 days' restOUT Freeman-Liberty missed 27 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Young missed 4 since 12/18, returns tonight: 5 min (32% of 15)
OUT Temple missed 4 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Dick back 12/22 after 2, 2 min since (11% of 21)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/22 after 5, 15 min since (128% of 12)
BACK McDaniels back 12/15 after 4, 2 min since (23% of 11)
TOR availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Freeman-Liberty missed 28 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Porter missed 2 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Temple missed 5 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Dick back 12/22 after 2, 4 min since (17% of 21)
BACK Young back 12/27 after 4, 5 min since (32% of 15)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/22 after 5, 14 min since (120% of 12)
BACK McDaniels back 12/22 after 2, 11 min since (98% of 11)
TOR availability going into 12/30 · back-to-backOUT Freeman-Liberty missed 29 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Porter missed 3 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Temple missed 6 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Dick back 12/22 after 2, 4 min since (17% of 21)
BACK Young back 12/27 after 4, 5 min since (32% of 15)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/22 after 5, 12 min since (104% of 12)
BACK McDaniels back 12/22 after 2, 12 min since (111% of 11)
TOR availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Dick missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Freeman-Liberty missed 30 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Porter missed 4 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Temple missed 7 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/27 after 4, 8 min since (52% of 15)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/22 after 5, 11 min since (94% of 12)
BACK McDaniels back 12/22 after 2, 13 min since (124% of 11)
TOR availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Dick missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Freeman-Liberty missed 31 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Porter missed 5 since 12/23, returns tonight: 7 min (52% of 14)
OUT Temple missed 8 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/27 after 4, 6 min since (39% of 15)
NEW McDaniels 11 to 17 min over the last 3
TOR availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Dick missed 4 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Freeman-Liberty missed 32 since 10/28, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 1/01, out tonight
OUT McDaniels missed 2 since 1/01, returns tonight: 7 min (68% of 11)
OUT Temple missed 9 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/27 after 4, 6 min since (39% of 15)
BACK Porter back 1/03 after 5, 7 min since (52% of 14)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 134 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Porziņģis at 29 and Tatum at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Barnes at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Freeman-Liberty (28 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Toronto giving it away 14 times a game to Boston's 9 and the defense, Toronto allowing 112 a night to Boston's 119. Call it Boston 121, Toronto 114.
12/20 @ SAC 144-119 — BOS notes
BOS won 144-119. BOS shot 55% (51 of 92) to SAC's 47%, 22 of 42 from three. The glass went 50-37 for them. White led with 28 (10 of 13, 6 of 9 from three); Brown added 28, Porziņģis 24. The hinge was Q3, 39-24: a lead of 8 became 23, and the lead reached 30. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/23 @ LAC 145-108 — BOS notes
BOS won 145-108. BOS shot 52% (49 of 94) to LAC's 46%, 25 of 53 from three, and went to the line 28 times to LAC's 15 — 22 points from the stripe to their 15. The glass went 51-34 for them. Tatum led with 30 (9 of 16, 5 of 10 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Brown added 24, Holiday 20. The hinge was Q4, 39-27: a lead of 25 became 37. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
12/25 @ LAL 126-115 — BOS notes
BOS won 126-115. BOS shot 51% (46 of 91) to LAL's 48%, 13 of 42 from three, and went to the line 28 times to LAL's 21 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. Porziņģis led with 28 (11 of 19, 2 of 8 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Tatum added 25, Brown 19. The hinge was Q1, 32-23: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/28 vs DET 128-122 — BOS notes
BOS won 128-122 in 1 overtime. BOS shot 48% (48 of 99) to DET's 48%, 11 of 39 from three, and went to the line 25 times to DET's 19 — 21 points from the stripe to their 12. BOS turned it over 12 times to DET's 18. The glass went 43-57 against them. Porziņģis led with 35 (13 of 21, 3 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Tatum added 31, White 23. The hinge was Q3, 35-16: BOS came in trailing by 19 and left it level. BOS trailed 47-66 at the half and won the second half 81-56. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/29 vs TOR 120-118 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-118. BOS shot 49% (43 of 88) to TOR's 46%, 17 of 39 from three. BOS turned it over 16 times to TOR's 4, and TOR turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 52-38 for them. Brown led with 31 (11 of 16, 5 of 6 from three); White added 21, Kornet 20. The hinge was Q1, 35-20: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/31 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 125, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Johnson at 18 and Vassell at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 133 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Porziņģis at 29 and Tatum at 29 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and San Antonio minus-6 and the defense, Boston allowing 116 a night to San Antonio's 125. Call it Boston 124, San Antonio 115.
1/02 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Porziņģis at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and OKC minus-1 and the line, where Boston takes 25 free throws a game to OKC's 19. Call it OKC 119, Boston 118, Boston keeping it close.
1/05 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Porziņģis at 28 and Tatum at 28 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. 2 days' rest. Utah comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Markkanen at 23 and Sexton at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Hendricks (4 straight), Horton-Tucker (3 straight), Juzang (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Boston 122, Utah 116.
1/06 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 135 a night and allowing 118, shooting 55 percent and 41 from three, 26 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Turner at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Nembhard (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Porziņģis at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Boston's 36 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Indiana plus-0. Call it Indiana 123, Boston 121, Boston keeping it close.
12/20 vs DEN 104-113 — TOR notes
TOR lost 104-113. TOR shot 48% (43 of 90) to DEN's 50%, 9 of 27 from three, and went to the line 13 times to DEN's 7 — 9 points from the stripe to their 3. Barnes led with 30 (13 of 22, 1 of 5 from three); Siakam added 18, Achiuwa 13. Q4 was theirs, 29-23, the deficit cut from 15 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 90-75 against them. Siakam's -17 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/22 @ PHI 111-121 — TOR notes
TOR lost 111-121. TOR shot 45% (39 of 87) to PHI's 53%, 9 of 33 from three, and went to the line 28 times to PHI's 21 — 24 points from the stripe to their 19. Siakam led with 31 (10 of 16, 0 of 4 from three, 11 of 12 at the line); Poeltl added 19, Trent Jr. 17. Q1 was theirs, 37-28, but the other 3 periods went 93-74 against them. They led by as many as 15. Schröder's -16 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 vs UTA 119-126 — TOR notes
TOR lost 119-126. TOR shot 48% (45 of 94) to UTA's 53%, 13 of 32 from three. Barnes led with 32 (12 of 23, 4 of 8 from three); Siakam added 19, Anunoby 19. Q2 was theirs, 37-24, but the other 3 periods went 102-82 against them. They led by as many as 17. Boucher's -11 in 13 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 @ WAS 132-102 — TOR notes
TOR won 132-102. TOR shot 57% (52 of 91) to WAS's 47%, 15 of 38 from three. The glass went 53-34 for them. Anunoby led with 26 (11 of 16, 3 of 7 from three); Siakam added 22, Barnes 20. The hinge was Q4, 35-21: a lead of 16 became 30. Schröder was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
12/29 @ BOS 118-120 — TOR notes
TOR lost 118-120. TOR shot 46% (44 of 95) to BOS's 49%, 17 of 44 from three. TOR turned it over 4 times to BOS's 16. The glass went 38-52 against them. Barnes led with 30 (10 of 24, 7 of 15 from three); Siakam added 27, Schröder 15. Q4 was theirs, 32-21, the deficit cut from 13 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 99-86 against them. Trent Jr.'s -10 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/30 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 124, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Cunningham at 33 and Ivey at 19 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Bagley III (2 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Barnes at 25 and Siakam at 23 a game. Without Freeman-Liberty (29 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Toronto wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 15 times a game to Toronto's 11 and the defense, Toronto allowing 116 a night to Detroit's 124. Call it Toronto 117, Detroit 116, Detroit keeping it close.
1/01 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Siakam at 27 and Barnes at 23 a game. Without Dick (2 straight), Freeman-Liberty (30 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 16 free throws a game; Allen at 21 and LeVert at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (7 straight), Eva. Mobley (11 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the arc, Toronto at 39 percent from three to Cleveland's 33 and the line, where Toronto takes 23 free throws a game to Cleveland's 16. Call it Toronto 116, Cleveland 114, Cleveland keeping it close.
1/03 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 119, shooting 42 percent and 31 from three, 26 free throws a game; Morant at 23 and Bane at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 11 a night. Without Jackson (8 straight), LaRavia (8 straight), Gilyard (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 28 and Barnes at 25 a game. Without Dick (3 straight), Freeman-Liberty (31 straight). One day's rest.
So: Toronto wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Toronto has been minus-0 a night and Memphis minus-11 and the arc, Toronto at 40 percent from three to Memphis's 31. Call it Toronto 117, Memphis 112.
1/05 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Fox at 29 and Sabonis at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Ellis (2 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Siakam at 29 and Barnes at 22 a game. Without Dick (4 straight), Freeman-Liberty (32 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-8 a night and Toronto plus-1 and the line, where Toronto takes 27 free throws a game to Sacramento's 19. Call it Sacramento 118, Toronto 117, Toronto keeping it close.
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
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.