Celtics at Raptors
It wasn't long ago that the Boston Celtics could entertain thoughts at catching the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference. A sudden slump has the Celtics sliding down the East standings and in need of a better showing when they visit the Raptors on Friday.
Boston was 4 1/2 games behind second-place Toronto earlier this month, but three straight losses and four in the last five games has created a more desperate mindset for coach Brad Stevens' squad, which is now 7 1/2 behind the Atlantic Division leaders and danger of sinking to sixth in the conference. "Three losses in a row we've had [and Wednesday was] probably our worst loss of the season," Stevens told reporters after Wednesday's 130-109 loss at home to Oklahoma City. "We've got to win [in Toronto]. The playoff picture -- I'm not saying we're not going to make the playoffs, but it's close." Toronto helped the Celtics out a bit by knocking off seventh-place Indiana in overtime on Wednesday. Bismack Biyombo - making his second straight start in place of the injured Jonas Valanciunas - hauled in a franchise-record 25 rebounds as the Raptors got within two games of East-leading Cleveland.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV, CSN New England (Boston), Sportsnet One (Toronto)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (39-29): With Jae Crowder sidelined, Marcus Smart drew the unenviable assignment of trying to defend Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, who had 28 points in 30 minutes Wednesday, and he might be on Raptors leading scorer DeMar DeRozan in this one. Regardless of how well Smart does while defending the opponents' top offensive threats, it would do wonders if he can shake free from an ugly slump on the other end of the floor, as the second-year pro is shooting 29.3 percent in seven games this month. He missed all four of his 3-point tries against the Thunder and is 5-of-33 from long range in March.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (46-21): DeRozan returned from a one-game layoff (rest) to score 28 points against Indiana and Kyle Lowry matched him, although the pair combined to shoot 36.2 percent and Lowry had eight turnovers. DeRozan averaged 28.5 points in the previous two meetings with Boston - both wins for the Raptors - and averages 25.6 at home this season. Valanciunas is nearing a return from a hand injury, which could help a team that will be playing its fourth game in five days and was forced to go an extra five minutes on the road Thursday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics PG Isaiah Thomas has scored at least 20 points in a season-high seven straight games.
2. DeRozan's next game will be his 510th with the Raptors, which moves him into third place alone on the list behind Morris Peterson (542) and Jose Calderon (525).
3. The teams finish the season series Wednesday in Boston.