The Celtics got back on track Friday night in their 125-117 win over the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden.
Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 27 points on 12-of-19 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc, to go along with eight assists, while Jaylen Brown recorded 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, as he also went 12-of-13 from the free throw line -- a far cry from the only three attempts in the C's 114-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets Wednesday.
"Tonight was a night where Toronto was very physical, and I was able to get to the line,” Brown said in his postgame presser. "The game before wasn't my best, but night-to-night things may change. I just gotta keep my head on straight, don't let it affect my physicality or the way I play, and don't let it cloud my vision -- when you're thinking about the refs, you're not thinking about making the right plays.
"It feels good, though," Brown added. "It feels good to get to the line."
Meanwhile, Brown and Pritchard are the first Celtics duo in 39 years to finish with at least 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, per Dick Lipe of NBC Sports Boston.
Sam Hauser was 5-of-7 from deep for 19 points, Derrick White added 18 points, five assists while Anfernee Simons chipped in 15 points and five assists off the bench to help the Celtics improve to 24-13 on the season and climb back into second place in the Eastern Conference.
RJ Barrett (seven assists) and Ja'Kobe Walter (six rebounds) each scored 19 points respectively, while Immanuel Quickley notched a double-double of 17 points, 13 assists and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 15 points for the short-handed Raptors, who were without Brandon Ingram (thumb), Scottie Barnes (knee) and Jakob Poeltl (back) -- as they fell to 23-16 and snapped their three-game win streak.
Boston had a 68-60 advantage at the break and a 13-3 run in the third quarter pushed the lead by as many as 20. The Raptors got within five (108-103) with 6:27 left to play in the final frame, before the Celtics used another 12-3 spurt to put the game out of reach for the visiting team down the stretch.
"I like when we come in the next day and we can't tell that it's a win or a loss. That to me it's my favorite," Joe Mazzulla said to reporters. "It's important over the course of the season, if we want to get better, it has to stay that way."
The Celtics will have a quick turnaround as they host the red-hot San Antonio Spurs (26-11) Saturday on a second night of a back-to-back at home.
Game Notes:
Boston hit 54% of their field goal attempts and 50% from 3-point range to the Raptors' 49% from the floor, including 38% from deep. The Celtics won the rebound battle 40-31 and outscored the visiting team 62-50 in the paint. Toronto handed out 39 assists on 45 baskets, while committing seven turnovers to the C's 28 dimes on 47 made shots and turned the ball over 10 times.
Joel Pavón
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