Celtics nearly make franchise history in New Year's Eve rout of Raptors

BOSTON — The first Celtics-Raptors matchup of the season was an overtime thriller decided on a last-second 3-pointer.

Round 2 was the polar opposite.

Boston manhandled a rebuilding and short-handed Toronto squad Tuesday at TD Garden, winning 125-71 to close out 2024 on a positive note.

The 54-point margin of victory was the largest ever in a Celtics home game and second-largest in franchise history, trailing only a 56-point waxing at Chicago on Dec. 8, 2018. It also was a palate-cleanser for Boston after an inconsistent December that included losses in four of its previous six games.

Coach Joe Mazzulla’s club now will head out West for the first time this season, kicking off a four-game road trip Thursday night in Minnesota.

Jayson Tatum scored 18 of his 23 points during an overpowering third quarter for the Celtics, who outscored the Raptors 45-18 in the frame after holding a 10-point lead at halftime. Derrick White scored an efficient 16 points in the game (6-for-8 shooting, 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range) and blocked four shots, and Jrue Holiday (14 points) went 4 for 5 from 3 and swiped three steals after missing three games with a shoulder injury.

Mazzulla said getting Holiday “back healthy was big-time,” even though the veteran guard admitted his injury hadn’t completely healed and “probably” will linger.

“I just think he brings stability, especially defensively,” Mazzulla said. “It’s another guy that can pressure the ball, it’s another guy that could guard different positions, it’s another guy that could execute defensively in different ways. And then he didn’t get a ton of looks, but he made the ones that he got. So I think his impact in his presence means more to us than he probably realizes.”

Payton Pritchard delivered another standout performance off the bench, finishing with 19 points (5 for 8 from 3), six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mazzulla sat his starters after the third quarter and pulled top reserves Pritchard and Sam Hauser (12 points, 4 for 7 from 3) shortly thereafter.

Jaylen Brown (12 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one steal) sported a large ice pack on his right shoulder late in the game after appearing to tweak it earlier. The Celtics played without starting center Kristaps Porzingis, who sat out his third straight game with a sprained ankle.

Toronto’s 71 points scored were the fewest by a Celtics opponent since 2013.

Though the Celtics made 50% of their 3-pointers in the win, their shooting was frigid to start the game: 0 for 8 from the floor, 0 for 6 from 3 and zero points in the first 4:25, with Brown finally breaking that drought with a driving layup.

But because the Raptors, who have lost 11 straight, are one of the NBA’s weakest teams and were playing without two of their top three leading scorers (RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick), they also made just one basket during that span. Once Boston found its stroke, it surged ahead, scoring on five straight possessions, including four made 3s.

White hit two of those triples as part of a 10-point first quarter that also featured one steal and two blocks, the second of which loudly denied Chris Boucher at the rim. White capped the quarter with a buzzer-beating floater that put Boston ahead 23-12.

Pritchard also made two first-quarter 3-pointers and two more in the second, including a 32-foot long ball over Davion Mitchell. After a three-game stretch in which he shot 15.8% from beyond the arc, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year favorite is 14 for 26 (53.8%) over his last three contests.

“I think the defense (helped),” Pritchard said. “(When) we’re playing active like that, getting steals and running out, it just allows easier shots. But not like playing a half-court-style ball. I feel like the flow is just easier, especially when you’re getting up and down. The ball is just popping. You’re going to play better. You’re going to shoot better.”

After missing their first 14 3s of the game, the Raptors converted five of their next seven, preventing the Celtics from adding to their lead during an erratic second quarter.

Boston seemingly prioritized interior defense against Toronto big man Jakob Poeltl, who put up 35 and 12 in the teams’ first meeting of the season. Poeltl attempted just one shot in the first half, though he was able to snag 10 rebounds against a Celtics team that was down its top frontcourt player in Porzingis.

The Celtics’ guards shot the ball effectively in the first half — White, Holiday and Pritchard were a combined 8 for 12 from deep — but the rest of their roster attempted 13 3s and missed all of them. Tatum scored just five first-half points for the second straight game. The Celtics, who came in averaging 119.5 points per game (fourth-most in the NBA), were nearly 20 points off that pace at halftime.

Yet Boston still led by double digits, 45-35, after an 80-point first half that was tied for the lowest-scoring in any NBA game this season. The Celtics then pulled away during a dominant third quarter, during which they doubled their scoring output and ballooned their lead from 10 points to 37.

Tatum snapped his cold spell by hitting back-to-back 3s in the first two minutes after halftime. He scored 18 in the frame, as many as Toronto totaled as a team. The Celtics went 10 for 12 from 3, poured in 45 points and then yanked their starters at the start of the fourth quarter, up 90-53.

What changed? One simple fact, according to Mazzulla: “Shots were going in.”

Boston’s onslaught continued once the backups entered. The Celtics outscored the Raptors 35-18 in the fourth and got some quality minutes from Jordan Walsh, who went 4 for 6 from the floor and 1 for 2 from 3 in his second encouraging outing of the week. Neemias Queta blocked two shots in the fourth quarter, and Jaden Springer threw down a rim-rattling dunk with 2:55 remaining.

The Celtics now will begin a daunting January schedule headlined by nine road games against Western Conference opponents, including the teams ranked first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth in the West standings as of Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a tough month,” said Holiday, who beat the first-half buzzer with one of his four 3-pointers against Toronto. “I think most of the month we’re gone. We’ve been home a lot, which is good for this December, but to start the New Year, we want to start it off with a great road trip and really get back to form.”