Raptors’ last call
Celtics put champs one loss from exit
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The game plan from Boston coach Brad Stevens was simple: Start things off with an increased effort on defense to set an immediate tone.
The Celtics did exactly as he asked — and put the reigning NBA champions on the ropes.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and the Celtics never trailed, rolling past the Toronto Raptors, 111-89, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday night.
Boston now leads the series 3-2 and can earn a trip to the East finals on Wednesday.
“We were playing with great purpose,” Stevens said. “You could feel that from the get-go.”
Kemba Walker scored 21 for the Celtics, whose starters outscored Toronto’s starters by a whopping 93-45. Jayson Tatum scored 18, Daniel Theis and Brad Wanamaker each scored 15 and Marcus Smart added 12 for Boston.
“The job’s not finished yet,” Brown said. “We’ve still got a lot of work that needs to be done.”
Fred VanVleet scored 18 for Toronto, which trailed by as many as 30. Norman Powell scored 16 for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry managed 10 points apiece. Matt Thomas also scored 10 for Toronto.
Here’s what Toronto got out of its first 18 possessions: five points on 2-for-15 shooting, a stretch that included everything from missed open layups to airballed contested jumpers, along with five turnovers in the game’s first 8:53.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I thought our offense was awesome for like the first eight minutes,“Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought it was awesome. I don’t think those shots could have been more open.“
They were down 18-5 after all that, and it got worse in a hurry.