Horford, Celtics win 12th in row

Al Horford had 21 points in his return from a two-game absence because of a concussion and the Celtics held off Toronto 95-94 in Boston 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 as initially feared.

Jaylen Brown added 18 points, and Terry Rozier helped replace Irving with 16 points off the bench. Boston shot 40.2 percent from the field.

Horford, in his 11th NBA season, hit 8 of 9 shots.

“He’s playing young again,” Rozier said.

Horford disagreed, thinking he’s playing even better.

“I don’t know if young Al Horford played like this, to be honest,” the four-time All-Star said. “You know, it’s been years of just working on my game and trying to play this new way.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, and Kyle Lowry had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who dropped to 7-5 after winning their previous two games.

“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.”