Boston handles Toronto with its own pace

Traveling to Ontario, after dominating the Nets the day before, in Brooklyn, the league’s best team did their job and showed that they are at the top of their game above all else. Even without Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon or Robert Williams.

against Raptorsthey are The Celtics So they won their twentieth victory of the season (116-110), needing a simple third-quarter surge (35-18) to take cover and ensure a relatively peaceful end to the game.

As is often the case, they are Jason Tatum (31 points, 12 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (22 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) who directed Boston to resist victory, good but loneliness Pascal Siakam (29 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) side Toronto.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

— Boston struck after halftime. At the end of a very balanced first half, almost between two mirror teams, the Celtics picked up the pace after the start of the third quarter. Jaylen Brown (6 points) and Marcus Smart (7 points), but above all Jayson Tatum (17 points), quickly blew up the Raptors (35-18), who could not resist their physical intensity, aggressiveness and aggressiveness under pressure. their address, on each side of the floor. Easy, the C’s didn’t force anything and simply gave the impression of reading their scales, bolstered by the all-around talent of an unavailable and active Tatum.

— The “Jay” is in control. Still in doubt about who the best duo in the league is? Of course not, both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are walking on water this season. First of all, they rarely do it with an air of superiority. It was as if they finally had some under their feet. A fresh illustration tonight, the Tatum/Brown duo took turns punishing the Canadian defense when they needed to accelerate, or at least do what it took for Boston to connect and then cover. Like a third quarter where two All-Stars made the difference in scoring or assists…

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Pascal Siakam. As a good leader for the Raptors, the Cameroonian kept the Canadian home as long as he could, first getting his team going in the first half, scoring the only one after the break to secure the lead. , as the Celtics began to take a lead over Toronto. Aggressive and present in all areas of the game, “Spicy P” did not disappoint tonight unlike any other and held his rank (see below)…

✅ Marcus Smart. The third thief of the Celtic “Big Three”, the best defender of the year was true to himself in defense, sacrificing himself as soon as possible to win back possessions and especially contributed to the poor play of Fred VanVleet. X factor in attack. Because with 18 points and 7 assists on 4/8 3-point shooting, Boston’s leader simply knew how to use the balls he received perfectly on this side of the floor. Especially in the third quarter, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown allowed the C’s to score with different banderillas from distance.

✅ Blake Griffin. Restarted and clearly set up by Joe Mazzulla to compensate for Al Horford’s absence, the six-time All-Star responded and had one of his best performances of the season, if not his best: 13 points and 8 rebounds in 32 minutes, 5/6 shooting. Active, combative and efficient, the former interior of the Clippers, Pistons and Nets excels in his skin. role player luxury, and above all, he proved to his coach that the players ahead of him in Boston’s rotation could call on him, even if only briefly, once they recovered.

⛔ Fred VanVleet. Totaled 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 38 minutes, 3-of-14 shooting and 1-of-6 3-pointers. The Raptors leader has a lot going for his stats, not on his plate offensively today and missing the team’s other All-Star, Pascal Siakam. An underwhelming performance in every way, but like the last seven meetings: averaged 14.6 points and 6.3 assists, but 31% shooting and 24% from 3-pointers… So it’s not a coincidence if Toronto is in trouble. This is the third defeat in four games…

NEXT

Toronto (12-12) : Lakers reception, Tuesday through Thursday night (01:30).

Boston (20-5) : Travel to Phoenix, Wednesday through Thursday night (04:00).