The Boston Celtics fell to the Toronto Raptors 107-105 in preseason play on Friday (Oct. 10) evening, Boston collapsing late in the game’s fourth quarter as the Celtics’ third and fourth string players could not close out the exhibition contest on their own. Despite leading for the majority of the game and by as much as 27 points, the Celtics did not match the pace or defensive intensity of their first preseason contest (a 121-103 win vs. the Memphis Grizzlies on Wed. Oct. 8), and the youth movement that dominated the minutes of this contest will have some work to do to prevent such outcomes during the regular season.
That said, there were plenty of bright spots in the loss, from Anfernee Simons’ (18 points) passable defense through much of the game to Chris Boucher’s (19 points, 9 rebounds) revenge game vs. Toronto. Payton Pritchard (19 points) and Josh Minott (13 points, 6 boards) also played well among the starters.
Luka Garza (12 points, 6 rebounds) had a strong game off the bench, while Neemias Queta (4 points, 5 rebounds) and Baylor Scheierman (4 points, 6 boards, as many assists) had a rough night against the Raptors.
The Celtics next face the Cleveland Cavaliers at their home court of TD Garden on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 7 pm ET.
Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:
Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3