First Quarter

The Raptors played hard defense and are ownly down 1 (24-23) and they are going hard to the basket and getting to the line but only problem is that they are 6 for 12 from the line. The Raptors kept control of the ball and did not turn it over (only 2) and the Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan (10 points along with a board and a steal) and Joey Dorsey (5 boards and 3 points along with 3 of 6 from the line) did a lot and will need to learn to finish on the offensive boards and take some extra free throws but he hopefully will learn. The Celtics were lead by Paul Pierce (8 points, 3 boards, and an assist) and Ray Allen (6 points along with a steal, a board, and an assists) but all in all the Raptors played a very good quarter Vs a very good team but second quarter up next.

Second Quarter

Raptors scored the first 6 points and took a 5 point lead but then they did not score a point in almost 4 minutes while the Celtics went on a 10-0 run but then the Raptors faught back with a 8-2 run. Finally the Raptors and Celtics went back and forth and the Celtics took a 43-42 lead into the second half. The Raptors were lead by Ed Davis (6 points, 5 boards, and an assist) and Joey Doris (4 points and 3 boards) while the Celtics were lead by Paul pierce (12 points, 3 boards, and an assist) and former Raptor Jermaine O'neal (4 boards and 2 points). The Raptors had only 4 turnovers in the quarter and 6 in the half which is a lot better than what had been happen and only given up 43 in a half and gave up 42 on Friday against the Rockets in the second quarter and the Raptors had 6 offensive boards and Celtics only 1 and out assisted the Celtics (7-5).

Third Quarter

The Raptors hung around for a bit but by the end of the quarter the Celtics had pulled away and took a 9 point lead into the fourth quarter (71-62) as the Celtics outscored the Raptors 28-20 in the quarter. The Celtics were lead by Glen Davis (9 points along with 2 assists and 2 boards) and Ray Allen (7 points, 2 boards, and an assist) along with Paul Pierce (6 points with a board and an assist) helped out. While the Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan (10 points, a board, and an assist) and Joey Dorsey (4 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals) along with Amir Johnson (4 points, 2 boards, and an assist) helped him out as well. The Raptors out rebounded the Celtics (11-8) along with offensive rebounds (6-1) and the Celtics out assisted the Raptors (10-6).

Fourth Quarter

The Raptors got stops early in the quarter and defense but then the Raptors could not get points on the other end with help from miss shots and turnovers but still got it to 5 and then the Celtics pulled away again winning 93-79 and outscored the Raptors 22-17 in the quarter with help from the Raptors 6 turnovers (only 7 turnovers in the first 3 quarter). The Celtics were lead by Ray Allen (10 points and a board) while Rando (3 assists) and Davis (2 assists and 4 points) helped by passing the ball as the Celtics out assisted the Raptors (9-3) in the quarter. The Raptors were lead by Barbosa (5 points and a steal) and Amir Johnson (5 boards), and DeMar DeRozan (3 boards) controlled the glass for the Raptors as they out rebounded the Celtics (15-8) along with offensive rebounds (7-0).

Final Thoughts

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were too much too handle for the Raptors (combined for 53 of the Celtics 93 points) but the Raptors put up a very good effort in the game especially on the offensive glass (19 boards) and went to the line a lot (22 times) but could not make the shot (only 10 made). The Raptors need Bargnani back because he could help with the scoring because DeMar DeRozan had 27 points while a treo of Kleiza, Calderon, and Barbosa only had 21 points in the game which is not enough scoring out of them but atleast Calderon had 10 assists and Kleiza had 9 boards. Dorsey and Davis had a combined 19 points but were 3 for 9 from the line hurt and helped the team only go 10 for 22 from the line and that is too many points to leave on the table. In the end having Dorsey and Davis getting extended minutes and DeMar learning to go to the basker (still could pass up some shots and find easier baskets) will hopefully help the Raptors in the long run.

See U later

Tom Mehegan