Boston Celtics Go Cold In Second Half and Fall to East's Elite

Boston Celtics Go Cold in Second Half and Can’t Hang With East’s Best Team

TORONTO, CANADA - OCTOBER 19: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors shoots the ball against the Boston Celtics on October 19, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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Second Half

Nick Nurse must have made Kawhi Leonard take his jersey off just to look at the back of it to remember who he was because Kawhi came out of the locker room every bit of the MVP candidate he was before his injury. Leonard scored at will against any and all Celtic defenders, scoring 22 of his 31 points in the second half.

The play from the supporting cast of the Toronto Raptors was the main reason the Celtics could not hold on to their lead from the first half. With Danny Green chipping in with 14 points, on 4 of 7 shooting from deep, Serge Ibaka contributing 21 points on 72% shooting and Frank VanVleet throwing in 11 points off the bench – the Celtics were simply outplayed tonight.

The Raptors were more active offensively in the second half and displayed more heart than the Celtics by taking charges and being first to loose balls.

The Celtics continued to expose the Raptors’ weak defensive rebounding but were not as successful converting on those second chance opportunities as they were in the first half.

On top of not being able to take advantage of the second chance opportunities, the Celtics were extremely inefficient in the second half shooting a putrid 35.2%. As a result, the Celtics were outscored 48 to 67 by the Raptors in the second half and ultimately falling to the Toronto Raptors 101 to 113.

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