The Boston Celtics have their 20th win of the 2022-23 NBA season nearly a full month earlier than they did in their 2021-22 campaign, and the sort of play we saw from the Celtics on the road against the Toronto Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back Monday is a big part of the reason why.
Punched in the mouth early, Boston did not give up and took the fight to Toronto in the game’s third quarter after an unfriendly whistle and sloppy play put them on their heels in the first half. Big runs put the Celtics up double digits throughout much of the tilt’s final frame, making for one of the gutsier wins we’ve seen from Boston in some time.
Let’s take a look at what Celtics and NBA Twitter had to say about Boston’s 116-110 road win vs. Toronto.
Some of the best plays captured in images from the Celtics’ 25th game of their 2022-23 campaign. https://t.co/eNzqJL7NRG
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 6, 2022
–oOo–
First quarter
#Celtics start SMALL here in Toronto. Blake Griffin is at center next to Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Marcus Smart.
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) December 6, 2022
Tommy point on the charge. That’s what Blake does.
— Rob Greene (@RobGreeneNBA) December 6, 2022
There's the elite Celtics offense they've bee known for.
Great ball movement.
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) December 6, 2022
The Celtics only have 18 with 2:52 in the first? Are the rims sideways?
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 6, 2022
Sorry, back-to-back-to-back.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) December 6, 2022
I'm legit shocked Hauser missed that clean look
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) December 6, 2022
Second quarter
Sam Hauser being just 1-for-4 from three with two open misses was the surprise of the first quarter.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 6, 2022
No soft passes back to the top or to wing
— Richard White (@RamblinWreck34) December 6, 2022
Colin Kaepernick in the house at Scotiabank Arena and gets a nice ovation. #Celtics #Raptors pic.twitter.com/ly8uhU1g5M
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 6, 2022
Marcus Smart's hip contusion doesn't seem to be bothering him too much.
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) December 6, 2022
Tatum’s footwork is dazzling
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 6, 2022
this game is annoying and could get worse
— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) December 6, 2022
Mazzulla tired of the one-way calls, gets a tech. #Celtics #Raptors
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 6, 2022
Raptors can’t foul
— Richard White (@RamblinWreck34) December 6, 2022
Blake with the business decision on that dunk lmao
— Dr. Daniel fromSport, Esq. (@DanielfromSport) December 6, 2022
Worried Griffin uses all his power-ups early in the season.
— John Zannis (@John_Zannis) December 6, 2022
Survived the tilted court. Take a breath and match physical play of Raptors.
— Richard White (@RamblinWreck34) December 6, 2022
Third quae=
My wife, who seldom swears, dropped two F bombs on these refs in the first half. I can’t even get her this mad.
— The Grievous Angel (@Flesh_Tuxedo) December 6, 2022
Jaylen gets blocked on a drive and instead of sulking, gets back on defense and gets a deflection out of bounds. #Celtics #Raptors
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 6, 2022
Tatum
-late contest on VanVleet forces a miss
– crosses up Anunoby & finishes at the rim
Nice sequence
— Brian Barrett (@itsbrianbarrett) December 6, 2022
13-4 Celtics run to take the lead. Another promising development? Jaylen Brown up to eight assists and zero turnovers over his last two games.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) December 6, 2022
The Celts have turned it into that extra gear most teams don't have.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) December 6, 2022
One of the better quarters of the year for Marcus Smart in a season that has had a lot of good quarters.
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) December 6, 2022
How about a 35-18 3rd quarter? pic.twitter.com/5XdAmgkWO5
— Brian Barrett (@itsbrianbarrett) December 6, 2022
Fourth quarter
#Celtics are 14-1 when they win the third quarter and they won it BIG in this one, 35-18. Jayson Tatums scored more than half of those points himself!
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) December 6, 2022
Celtics are kind of out-Raptoring the Raptors. They're getting on the offensive glass, creating turnovers and scoring in transition. Those are all things Toronto excels at.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 6, 2022
Jaylen Brown has eight assists and no turnovers. He didn't have a turnover yesterday either.
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) December 6, 2022
Someone please clip Marcus Smart “walking the dog” there. That was wild.
— J.E. Skeets (@jeskeets) December 6, 2022
Great shot by Jaylen Brown, but he got away with the off arm there.
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) December 6, 2022
Jayson Tatum just wakes up and scores 30+ at this point. #Celtics
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) December 6, 2022
Huge rebound by JT
— Maaahhcus ☘️ (@AusCelticsFan) December 6, 2022
Griffin's tip-in may have iced it for #Celtics, 115-108 with 26.8 left. Griffin with 12 pts, 7 rebs in 32 minutes. He's going to need a ice tub on that flight to Phoenix tonight. #Raptors
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) December 6, 2022
Another W for the C’s 🔥
— 𝕂𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕚 𝔸. 𝕃𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤 (@KwaniALunis) December 6, 2022
