BOSTON — When the Celtics dropped three consecutive games to the Warriors last June to lose the NBA Finals, it was clear they needed another playmaking guard and scoring punch off the bench to help them get over the hump.
A few weeks later, Brad Stevens addressed it when he orchestrated a trade with the Pacers for Malcolm Brogdon in what was viewed as one of the best moves of the summer across the league.
As the regular season winds down, that deal has proven to be worth the hype. Brogdon is the frontrunner to be named the NBA’s sixth man of the year and a significant reason why the Celtics are championship favorites when they begin their playoff pursuit next week.
Wednesday was yet another big mark on Brogdon’s sixth man candidacy. With Jayson Tatum out as he continues to nurse a nagging hip injury and gets some extra rest before the playoffs and Jaylen Brown struggling through a tough shooting night, a shorthanded Celtics squad once again showed why they’re so much more than their two All-Stars. Brogdon led the way with 29 points – which included some big plays down the stretch – as the C’s held off the hungry Raptors with a 97-93 victory at TD Garden.
The Celtics locked in to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs on Wednesday night after the Bucks beat the Bulls to clinch the No. 1 seed. Boston likely will need to go through Milwaukee to get back to the NBA Finals, but Joe Mazzulla’s group is deeper than before with Brogdon and a plethora of bench options who have the capability to make major contributions.
In addition to Tatum’s absence, the Celtics were without Marcus Smart and Al Horford on the second night of a back-to-back. Brown was far from himself, finishing with 25 points on 12-for-29 shooting and just 1-for-9 from 3-point range. But in starting a group that included Sam Hauser and Mike Muscala, the Celtics had enough against the Raptors, who are fighting for seeding in the play-in tournament.
Muscala had 12 points on three 3-pointers. Derrick White had 17 points. Hauser, though he just made one of eight 3-point attempts, made several hustle plays. Blake Griffin continued to prove he deserves a playoff role as an energy spark plug.
The Celtics, after a slow 0-for-7 start to the game, responded to take a double-digit lead at halftime and led by as many as 13 in the third quarter and had to fight off several Raptors runs down the stretch. Pascal Siakam scored 14 consecutive points for Toronto during one stretch in the third as the Celtics’ lead whittled down to two.
But Brogdon seemed to have every answer. After the Raptors cut their deficit to two, the guard made a second-chance 3-pointer, then banked in a floater with two seconds remaining to restore Boston’s lead to seven going into the final period.
The Celtics led by nine early in the fourth quarter but the Raptors charged back to even the game at 82 with 6:22 remaining. That’s when Brogdon answered right away with a pull-up 3-pointer, and after a defensive stop, he found Muscala cutting for a layup to put the Celtics back up five.
Toronto cut Boston’s lead back to three with 3:21 to go but Brown found Muscala, who hit a 3-pointer. And the Celtics rode that to the finish.
