Celtics at Raptors
The race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference intensifies Tuesday in Toronto as the Raptors host the first-place Boston Celtics in the first matchup between the divisional foes in nearly three months. The Celtics lead the Raptors by two games and enter this one on a four-game winning streak after Al Horford's buzzer-beater gave them a 97-96 triumph over Portland on Sunday.
Boston was without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving (quad) for the third straight time and trailed by 16 at the break before rallying to complete a 3-0 homestand. "We made enough timely shots; we weren't great on offense all day," coach Brad Stevens told the media. "We were really fortunate to win." Boston may need to pick it up on the offensive end to keep pace with the Raptors, who are the top scoring team in the Eastern Conference at 111.4 points per game and are averaging 116.4 during their current 4-1 run. The best defensive effort in that span came in Sunday's 101-86 victory over Memphis, which gave Toronto a 21-4 mark at home.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, TSN 1/4 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (39-15): Irving, who remains day-to-day, missed the first matchup with the Raptors while watching Horford shoot 8-for-9 from the floor and lead Boston to a 95-94 win. Horford's game-winner against the Trail Blazers capped a 22-point effort and the All-Star forward is averaging 19.5 points while making 15-of-25 shots - including all three of his 3-point tries - over the last two games. Terry Rozier recorded a triple-double in his first start in place of Irving and then a career-high 31 points in his second start, but he slipped to 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting in Sunday's win.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (36-16): Six players scored between 10 and 15 points against Memphis and three of them came off the bench, led by Delon Wright (15 points) and Fred VanVleet (13 points, eight assists, seven rebounds). "Every time we come in with the lead we always say we're not coming out, we're going to try to take the lead up," Wright told reporters after the second unit carried the team down the stretch. "Coach [Dwane Casey] trusted us today and we were able to finish the game and get the win." VanVleet is averaging 16 points on 54.5 percent shooting in 22.5 minutes over his last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics PF Marcus Morris (hip) missed two games in a row but will travel with the team to Toronto.
2. Raptors C Jakob Poeltl is 15-for-18 from the field over a four-game stretch.
3. Toronto has won four straight meetings at home.