Boston Celtics Go Cold in Second Half and Can’t Hang With East’s Best Team
By Mujeeb Ahmed
The Boston Celtics fell to the Toronto Raptors, 113-101, Friday night as they went cold late in the fourth quarter.
In the aftermath of LeBron James‘ departure to Hollywood, Eastern Conference contenders have lined up to claim the throne of the new, dominant force in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics looked to lay claim to the empty throne by defeating the new look Toronto Raptors, but ultimately fell short in what could very likely be a preview of this year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Kyrie Irving led the way for the Celtics, scoring 21 points, though it took him 20 attempts to do so. Jayson Tatum wasn’t too far behind with 16 points, however he also struggled tonight with needing 16 attempts to score 16 points.
On top of the inefficient play from the Celtics star players, the supporting cast played an inefficient and ineffective game with subpar performances from the Celtics second unit.
The Raptors star off-season acquisition, Kawhi Leonard, erupted for a 31-point, 10-rebound performance but it was the efficient play of Danny Green (14 points on 63% FG shooting) and Serge Ibaka (21 points on 72% FG shooting) that gave the Raptors the victory over the presumed favorite Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Let’s take a look at how this game unfolded.