Celtics hold off Raptors for 12th straight victory

BOSTON — Al Horford turned back the clock in his return from a two-game absence with a concussion.

Horford scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting to help the Boston Celtics hang on to beat the Toronto Raptors 95-94 on Sunday for their 12th straight victory. Boston (12-2) was playing without Kyrie Irving after he took an inadvertent elbow to the face from teammate Aron Baynes on Friday night against Charlotte. Irving has a minor facial fracture but has not been diagnosed with a concussion.

Jaylen Brown added 18 points, and Terry Rozier helped fill in for Irving with 16 points off the bench. Boston shot just 40.2 per cent from the field.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, and Kyle Lowry had 19 points and seven assists for Toronto. The Raptors dropped to 7-5 after winning two straight.

“They are the best team in the NBA right now — 12 in a row,” Lowry said. “They’re playing unbelievable, everyone is picking up slack.”

Jayson Tatum’s acrobatic layup with 1:26 remaining in the fourth quarter put the Celtics up 95-90.

DeRozan missed a potential go-ahead stepback jumper with 19 seconds left. Tatum got the rebound, but elbowed Fred Van Vleet in the face for an offensive foul that was confirmed by video review.

DeRozan had another look to give Toronto the win, but missed a turnaround jumper with two seconds left. Serge Ibaka scooped up the rebound, but lost the ball as time expired.

“He shook him, he was wide open, vaulted up, and I’ll take that shot 999 times out of 1,000,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said about DeRozan’s effort.

Brown, who was guarding DeRozan on the final possession, was a bit surprised that the shot didn’t go down.

“That’s a shot that DeMar DeRozan probably hits nine times out of 10,” Brown said. “I got a late contest, but he missed this one, so we’ll take the win.”

Boston’s 12-game winning streak is tied for its third-longest in the last 30 years. The Celtics also won 12 straight from Jan. 11-Feb. 3, 2009.

Toronto has never snapped an opponent’s winning streak of 10 or more games in franchise history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Lowry’s 3-pointer with 5:32 left in the first quarter moved him past Andrea Bargnani (6,581 points) into fourth place on Toronto’s scoring list. Vince Carter is third with 9,420 points.

The Raptors continue a three-game trip Tuesday night against Houston.