The Boston Celtics improved to 15-9 on the season with a gritty win over the Raptors in Toronto on Sunday afternoon. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 30 points on 3-of-4 from three and 9-of-9 from the line. Derrick White dropped 27 points and had an impressive three blocks.
The Celtics were challenged mightily in the second half by the Raptors. Boston entered halftime with a commanding 76-59 lead on the road, but Toronto came out with ridiculous defensive energy in the third quarter and won the period 32-20 as the Celtics struggled to deal with the amped-up pressure.
White hit a pair of timely threes to keep Boston afloat as Toronto continued to surge in the fourth quarter. The Raptors even took the lead at one point.
In the end, Toronto ran out of gas, and the Celtics continued to play excellent, consistent basketball on a possession-by-possession basis, a steady recipe that has Boston looking like one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference lately.
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The standings reflect that, too. Boston is now sitting in third place in the East behind only the Detroit Pistons (19-5) and the New York Knicks (16-7).
The Celtics have won five straight games and 10 out of their last 12. Brown now has the second-most 30-point games in the NBA this season behind reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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JB is averaging 29.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in 23 games this season. More importantly, the Celtics are rolling.
