Recap: Toronto vs. Boston
Sports Network | November 23, 2008
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Ray Allen scored a team-high 21 points, and six other Celtics scored in double-figures as defending champion Boston hammered the Toronto Raptors, 118-103, at Air Canada Centre.
Kevin Garnett chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds, while Rajon Rondo had 15 points and Kendrick Perkins donated 12 for the Celtics, who have won 13 of their first 15 games to start the season. Paul Pierce finished with 11 points.
"I think that for four quarters we were solid on both ends of the floor," Ray Allen said. "We set the tone early in the first quarter. Rondo created a great tempo for us and got some easy looks."
Chris Bosh scored a game-high 24 points and had six boards, while Andrea Bargnani added 14 points and seven rebounds for Toronto, which has dropped five of their last seven. Forward Jermaine O'Neal, who was nursing a strained left knee, started the game, but left with 7:17 remaining in the first half. He finished with six points and two rebounds.
With the Celtics holding a 59-49 lead after one half of play, things didn't change much in the third quarter. Ray Allen drilled a pair of three-pointers as part of a 12-3 burst, and Boston held a comfortable 95-73 advantage after three quarters.
In the fourth, the Celtics, primarily playing with a deep bench, held a double-digit lead throughout en route to the 118-103 final score.
"The past two games have been bad, so we have to go back and break down the tape, go about things and tighten it up," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said. "We are just making a lot of mental errors. We are rotating to guys and left Ray Allen open a few times. We just had a bad game."
The Celtics got three-pointers from Ray Allen and Pierce as part of a 10-0 run to start the game and held a 32-20 advantage after one quarter.
In the second, the Raptors went on a 12-4 run of their own and after O'Neal nailed a jumper, trailed by a 36-32 margin with 8:10 remaining in the first half.
Boston, however, responded as Tony Allen scored five in a row and Ray Allen followed with the next seven for the Celtics to open up a 48-35 edge with 5:03 left in the half. The visitors would hold a 59-49 lead heading into the intermission.
Boston will host Golden State on Wednesday night, while Toronto welcomes Charlotte to the Air Canada Centre...Boston has dominated Toronto recently, winning six of its last seven games with the Raptors...Tony Allen finished with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench for Boston...The Celtics have won five straight on the road and improved to 6-0 when scoring 100 or more points this season.
