The Celtics held on to beat the Toronto Raptors 121-113 to win their fifth straight, after blowing a 23-point lead in the second half at Scotiabank Arena Sunday afternoon.
Jaylen Brown finished with 30 points on 9-of-19 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. Derrick White scored 27 points on 10-of-21 from the floor, 6-of-15 from long distance and also five assists to help improve the C's to 15-9 on the season and grab sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
"We're getting contributions from everybody," White said during his postgame comments. "Every person that checks into the game is really helping us, and we're all going for the same goal. So we continue to all play the right way, celebrate each other's successes, and just be there for one another -- we'll do a lot of special things."
Payton Pritchard added 15 points, six assists, while Anfernee Simons (off the bench) and Neemias Queta (11 rebounds) chipped in 12 and 11 points respectively, as Boston has won 10 of their last 12 games.
Brandon Ingram matched a game-high 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, while Scottie Barnes had 18 points, 11 rebounds and Sandro Mamukelashvili netted 14 points off the bench for the Raptors -- who fell to 15-10 on the season.
Boston was ahead 87-64 (the largest margin of the night) with 8:33 left in the third quarter, before the Raptors went on a 34-10 run to take their first lead with 10:39 remaining in the final frame -- which was the first time the C's had trailed since the second period of their 123-117 win over the Knicks last Tuesday, as they also posted wire-to-wire victories over the Washington Wizards on the road and the Los Angeles Lakers at home this past Friday.
After back-to-back 3-pointers by White and Pritchard, the Celtics were back up by three and never trailed the rest of the way with 7:15 left to play, outscoring Toronto 16-11 down the stretch and handing them their third-consecutive loss before they face New York in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.
"Just keep going. Just keep getting better, stay humble," Brown said in his postgame interview. "Just one game at a time. Just keep growing, getting better, and having fun -- and smiling."
Brown also added: "It's more fun when you win. I'll tell you that."
The Celtics currently have the longest win streak in the East and are off until Thursday when they head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks (10-15).
Game Notes:
Boston hit 48% of their attempts and 43% (20-of-47) from deep while the Raptors were 49% from the field but only 9-of-22 from long range. Toronto won the rebound battle 42-41, and outscored the C's 56-42 in the paint. On second chance points the Celtics were in favor 17-4 over the home team.
Joel Pavón
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