The Celtics took care of business on the second night of their back-to-back Saturday night, with a dominating 117-94 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first quarter, but it didn’t last long, as the Celtics closed the opening frame on an 11-2 run and took a four-point lead into the second quarter.
The C’s picked up right where they left off in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Led by Sam Hauser, who is now shooting 21-of-38 (55.2%) from beyond the arc in his last six games, the Celtics opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run, building a 14-point lead they would not surrender. Hauser scored six of Boston’s 10 points over that stretch, knocking down two threes in the first 1:27 of the frame. Overall, it was a 19-2 run spanning between the first and second quarters.
For the second consecutive night, Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics, pouring in 29 points on 12-of-20 (60%) shooting. Brown also had five boards and two assists.
The 27-year-old was one of three Celtics to finish with at least 20 points, as Jayson Tatum had 27 on 10-of-18 (55.6%) shooting, and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 on 9-of-14 (64.3%) shooting.
Overall, Saturday night was the best Boston’s offense has looked execution-wise this season. The Celtics worked in the half-court often Saturday night, and they found success with their execution, screening, and ball movement.
The Celtics racked up 30 assists in the win. Dating back to last season, the Celtics are now 18-2 when recording 30+ assists. The C’s have totaled 59 total assists over their last two games.
The ball movement and purposeful screening led to easy looks for the Celtics, as they totaled a whopping 60 points in the paint and shot 32-of-42 (76.2%) from inside the arc, their third-highest mark in franchise history.
Here are three takeaways from Boston’s fifth double-digit win of the season.
Suffocating defense
Boston’s defense was phenomenal Saturday night, completely shutting down Toronto’s offense. The Raptors finished with just 94 points on 35-of-91 (38.5%) shooting from the field and 10-of-37 (27.0%) from deep. Toronto’s 38.5% shooting is a season-low for them. Saturday night also marked the first time the Celtics held an opponent under 100 points this season.
Boston’s defense has been impressive early on, posting a 104.9 defensive rating through the first nine games, good for third-best in the league.
Porzingis’ offensive impact
Though it didn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet Friday night against the Nets, Porzingis was one of the best players on the court, as the seven-foot-three big man made his impact on the defensive end and as a screener.
“KP only took four shots last game, but his screening in the first half is what allowed the other guys to get going,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said following Saturday night’s win.
Though Porzingis did finish with 21 points and seven boards, his work as a screener was arguably more impressive as it allowed the Celtics’ offense to attack inside.
“Those screens that he was setting were getting JT and JB and our guys downhill, and that forced them [Toronto] to veer and forced them to bring their rim protection away, which allowed us to get 60 points in the paint,” Mazzulla said postgame.
Porzingis has always been viewed as a scorer, but we are learning early on that he really is the whole package, and so far, he has been a perfect fit alongside the Jays. Sure, his ability to knock down a shot from anywhere on the floor will go a long way, but it’s his ability to do the things that may go unnoticed that makes him so crucial to Boston’s success.
"His open-mindedness to being coached has way far exceeded my expectations,” Mazzulla said postgame.
Non-Tatum minutes starting to become a troubling trend
On a night that was mostly positive for the Celtics, one troubling trend continued. Entering Saturday night, the Celtics were outscoring opponents by 124 points with Tatum on the floor. With Tatum off the floor, the Celtics were being outscored by 26 points.
That trend continued Saturday night as the Celtics outscored Toronto by 42 with Tatum on the floor and were outscored by 19 in the 14 minutes he was off the floor.
The 25-year-old’s +42 plus-minus Saturday night was the third-best of his career. Tatum leads the NBA in plus-minus with a +166. The next closest is Jrue Holiday, with a +111.
While impressive on Tatum’s part, this is a problem that the Celtics need to fix.
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