Luckily for the Celtics, there is no such thing as style points in the NBA. It took a 29-foot three-pointer from Jayson Tatum in overtime to break the 12th tie in a game that featured 27 lead changes and help the Celtics escape with a narrow 126-123 win over the lowly Raptors.
Toronto came into the night with just two wins, tied for the fewest in the NBA, and was winless on the road at 0-7, losing by an average of nearly 10 points per game. Yet, they arrived at TD Garden and pushed the reigning NBA champions to the brink.
It was the latest in what’s become an early-season trend for the 2024-25 Celtics: winning ugly. Over their last six games, five have been decided by six points or fewer, with two going to overtime. The one exception was a 25-point win in Brooklyn on Wednesday, though that didn’t come without its flaws, as Boston fell behind by as many as 13 points in the first quarter—the latest episode of their recent slow starts.
Winning ugly has its value, especially when contributions come from up and down the roster. On Saturday night, while Tatum hit the game-winner, Neemias Queta came up with a crucial block to set up that shot. Al Horford and Sam Hauser posted season-highs in scoring, Payton Pritchard sparked an 8-0 run that helped the Celtics regain control in the third quarter, Jaylen Brown led the team with 27 points, and Derrick White continued his steady two-way play with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks—his two blocks matching Toronto’s team total.
Making key plays down the stretch and doing enough to find ways to win is important and shouldn’t be overlooked. And we can’t lose sight of the fact the Celtics are 11-3, winning by an average of 10.2 points per game, while Kristaps Porzingis continues to ramp up for his return.
However, this team has another gear to hit. We've seen glimpses of it this season, but only for full 48-minute stretches on a few occasions.
“I think with our group, there’s good focus,” Al Horford said. “We’re having success, and, you know, we’re probably not winning like we’re expected to, but the biggest thing is that we’re finding ways to get it done, and we know that we still have a lot of room to grow as a group. So that, to me, is encouraging.”
Winning like are expected to is no easy feat, especially when the comparisons are made to a historically dominant team. Last year, the Celtics set the NBA record for most 25-point wins (17), as well as most 30-point wins (10), and finished in the top five for scoring margin.
The 2024-25 Celtics can absolutely return to that level, and it’s worth noting that in some statistical areas, they’re on pace to match or even surpass last year’s numbers. However, to regain that dominance, there are areas that need improvement—starting with their rim protection. In the win over the Raptors, the Celtics allowed 76 points in the paint. Jakob Poeltl had a career-high 35, shooting 16-of-19, while the Raptors as a team shot 38-of-67 (56.7%) from the field.
Over their last six games, opponents are averaging 55.7 points per game in the paint, the second-highest mark in the NBA during that stretch, trailing only the Chicago Bulls, who’ve allowed 59.3.
“We’ve just got to be smart,” Jaylen Brown said. “It’s not like we want to encourage teams to shoot threes or anything, but we definitely don’t want to give up layup after layup after layup. We’re going to figure some stuff out.”
Perhaps it’s human nature. After a championship run and long summers, the attention to detail—the mindset, focus, and intensity that fueled last year’s dominance—might not always be there. Add to that the fact that every team is bringing their best against the reigning champs, and it only makes things more challenging.
But if this six-game stretch is the “championship hangover,” the Celtics can live with it. They haven’t been at their best, yet they’re 4-2 during that span. There’s plenty of room for improvement, and the team knows exactly where they need to improve. If they get back to their roots and execute, a few bumps in November will be a distant memory.
“It’s a new season. It’s a new thing. You’re always on a different path,” Mazzulla said. “We’re competing. We’re just not executing at the level that we need to. There is a difference there.”
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