BOSTON — With a late-season losing streak barely behind them, the Boston Celtics entered their final regular-season matchup with Toronto searching for a statement win.
The Celtics not only got it, but may have grabbed just the momentum boost they craved with a pivotal five-game trip looming.
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WHO: Celtics at Suns
WHEN: 10 p.m. Saturday
TELEVISION: CSN
Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points, Evan Turner added 17 and the Celtics beat the Raptors 91-79 on Wednesday night.
Avery Bradley finished with 16 points and eight rebounds as the Celtics won their third consecutive game and first this season over one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams.
“It’s big,” Thomas said. “We wanted some confidence and momentum going into this tough West Coast trip and we got it. We wanted these three games and we got them.”
Boston had what had been an eight-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter cut to a point. But the Celtics responded with a 10-4 run to get the separation they needed to close it out.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 21 points. Point guard Kyle Lowry sat out, resting a sore right elbow.
Toronto had a four-game winning streak snapped and fell 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the best record in the Eastern Conference. But the Raptors still clinched their third consecutive playoff berth thanks to a loss by Chicago.
That was little consolation for Toronto Coach Dwane Casey.
“They beat us. They spanked us,” Casey said. “We talked about how good of a team they are if we don’t play with force. When you don’t play with force you’re going to have trouble scoring, and we had trouble scoring.”
In addition to Lowry, Toronto also played without forward Patrick Patterson, who missed his second straight game with a sore left ankle. The Celtics remained without starting forward Jae Crowder as he recovers from a right ankle sprain.
Toronto trailed 69-58 late in the third quarter before using a 10-0 run to get back into the game. The Celtics missed eight straight shots during the run.
But Boston responded with its 10-4 spurt, getting its lead back up to 79-72.
The first half was tight throughout, with 10 lead changes and neither team holding more than a three-point lead.
The victory ensured the Celtics will finish with at least a .500 record – its first since Coach Brad Stevens took over three years ago.
“I feel like there’s real progress. And it’s pretty consistent progress,” Stevens said. “But…you don’t sign up to come to the Boston Celtics to win 42 games. So we’ve got a long way to go.”
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