 | Boston | 91 | Final Box Score | 111 | Toronto |  |
 A | S. Ibaka22 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 7 +/- Came out the sharpest we’ve seen him, I wanna say, since 2017. He was tuned in, supportive, and while his looks weren’t all great he showed up big where they needed him. I enjoyed his celebratory traffic-controlling with a towel from the bench at the end of the 4th—rhythm for days. | ||||||||
 A | O. Anunoby15 MIN, 4 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- More like OH GEEZE. Not a ton of minutes but showed up solid on Tatum and grabbed some nice rebounds. | ||||||||
 A- | J. Valanciunas21 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 11 +/- JV threes are a beautiful gift and as such we shouldn’t come to expect them, only appreciate them that much more when they surprise us. Still, I’m wondering where January JV has gone. Namely in shooting percentage, the way he played through bad calls and dominated the glass. Holding my breath ’til his ankle is cleared. | ||||||||
 A+ | K. Lowry25 MIN, 23 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 6-13 FG, 6-11 3FG, 5-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 12 +/- Fly, Lowry, Fly! Our dude came out charged up, tough, and ready to rip and kept the pace going to the final buzzer. He proved a powerful constant and left the fireworks to younger guys, save for some gargantuan shots, ending with a tidy 23 points. | ||||||||
 A+ | D. DeRozan29 MIN, 15 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 6-17 FG, 2-6 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 11 +/- DeMar was as confident in his acting debut in those Google Home Mini commercials as he was leading the team in this game. It’s hard to pick who he’s better, or more fun to watch playing with, the starters or bench, but why even try to make that decision. | ||||||||
 A+ | F. VanVleet31 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 3-5 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 17 +/- Steadiness is no problem for the angel sent here from heaven to cook Kyrie. | ||||||||
 A+ | D. Wright25 MIN, 14 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 6-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 5 +/- Wright might as well have been doing the “I See You” fingers to Irving when he came right back with that dagger three right after Kyrie’s, but needed both hands to plunge that dagger into the heart of that little, smoking leprechaun (on the uniforms, not a new analogy for Kyrie Irving). Honestly, do his legs extend when he runs full out with no one and nothing in front of him but the promise of a sassy dunk? | ||||||||
 A+ | P. Siakam25 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 13 +/- Big ole beach volleyball block! I want to be completely honest and say that I teared up when Siakam levitated through space and time to get the lob from Delon and do a dunk that hurt everybody’s feelings, including mine. Forcing Horford into an out-of-bounds turnover that had Siakam laughing along with two kids at court-side felt like being in on a wacky heist wherein no one gets hurt but we all get rich. He was relentless. | ||||||||
 A | J. Poeltl24 MIN, 4 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 2 TO, 16 +/- Yak woke up in the middle of the 4th and seemed to realize his best friend had made a big block but he had yet to, so he fixed that. Yak n’ Skills do everything together. | ||||||||
 A | C. Miles15 MIN, 20 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 6-8 FG, 5-7 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 16 +/- Dad’s consistency continues to be a slight pinch point. The best thing he could be doing with the 2nd unit, especially in a game that’s going to be as quick and no-holds-barred as Boston, is steady hands and the chillness akin to an anchor being dropped into a cerulean sea. It came out a lot stronger in the clutch, which is where you want it, so it seems a moot point in this match, at least. | ||||||||
 B | L. Nogueira4 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- B for Bebe for making his free throws. Had a hard time holding the ball when it literally landed right in his hands, though. | ||||||||
 B+ | N. Powell4 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- Very late look for Norman but he scattered dirt down into this fresh grave with some flourish and averaged about a point per minute. | ||||||||
 A+ | Dwane Casey Casey kept the rotations fresh and steady, not letting anyone get haggard or too strung out. He had obviously lit the match under these guys going into tonight’s game ’cause they were heated from the jump. The ubiquitous 3rd quarter lull was light by comparison, I only wish he’d let the funeral go full wake and kept the key bench in for some fun up to the buzzer. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- PACE! It was breakneck from the beginning tonight and hardly let up. The Raptors were ready for this game and didn’t waffle once, from ball movement to picking shots to finding a new gear to shift into whenever the Celtics so much as looked at them sideways. Honestly, I got so excited at one point that I spilled a bag of pretzels on my fast-asleep dog.
- Toughness. Reassuring to see speed and handling combine with limited slip ups, more reassuring to see these guys hold their own at home against a Boston team that truly looked like they got their bell rung by the end of the 1st quarter. Games like tonight’s send a message and the timing couldn’t better coming up on the All-Star break and the last sprint to the finals.
- Boston’s child coach aged a few years and I’m glad for it. Stevens is assuredly going back to the drawing board after his team’s loss tonight and I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes some cues from Casey there with him.
