Celtics rip Raptors as Nets, Magic cruise
Miami, Aug. 8: Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum powered the Boston Celtics to a 122-100 rout of defending NBA champion Toronto on Friday, keeping the Raptors from clinching the Eastern Conference second seed.
Brown scored 20 points, Tatum added 18 and Kemba Walker added 17 for the Celtics (46-23), who pulled within 3.5 games of second-place Toronto and three ahead of fourthplace Miami.
“We’re getting there. I don’t want to put a cap on it, say where our ceiling is, but we’re improving every day and we don’t want to stop,” Tatum said.
The Celtics, who boasted seven double-figure scorers, never trailed against the NBA’s second-best defensive squad, jumping ahead 52-37 at halftime and outscoring the
Raptors 39-20 in the third quarter.
“I don’t think it’s a surprise when your offense is dialed in like that,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.
Fred VanVleet led Toronto with only 13 points, but the Celtics and Raptors could face each other in the second round of the playoffs and both sides know it could be much different.
The Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic clinched the last two berths in the East playoffs in different fashions.
Brooklyn, led by 22 points from Caris LeVert and 21 from Joe Harris, routed Sacramento 119106. The Nets (33-36) ensured ninth-place Washington could not pull within four games to force a play-in series under NBA restart rules.
Orlando (32-38) had a chance to win and seal a berth but the Philadelphia
76ers rallied in the second half to beat the Magic 108101.
Instead, the Magic reached the playoffs when Washington lost to New Orleans 118-107, leaving the Wizards (24-45) the only winless bubble team and too far back to threaten Orlando.
● Brown scored 20 points, Tatum added
18 and Kemba Walker added 17 for the Celtics (46-23), who pulled within
3.5 games of second-place Toronto and three ahead of fourthplace Miami.