May 5, 2025. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against New York.

That was the last time, before Sunday, that Joe Mazzulla had his entire roster available for a Celtics game.

Boston finally ended that 11-month drought in its 115-101 win over the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden. Veteran big man Nikola Vucevic’s return from a fractured ring finger gave Mazzulla a full squad to work with for the first time this season.

Vucevic showed clear signs of rust in his first game back, finishing with four points, four rebounds, one assist, two turnovers and four fouls. Toronto outscored Boston by 14 points across his 13 minutes, a far cry from starting center Neemias Queta’s plus-30 in 34 minutes. But Vucevic came away encouraged by his performance.

“Just try to find my ways and be able to be myself within what we’re trying to do, within what is helping us be a good team,” Vucevic said. “And then I think, as I play more alongside these guys, I learn their tendencies, they learn mine, and I think that will just come naturally. I think today, honestly, when I was playing out there, I felt pretty good, pretty comfortable in the flow of the offense, defense, things like that.

“It wasn’t perfect — there were mistakes, things like that — but I felt pretty good.”

Vucevic, the Celtics’ top trade-deadline acquisition, suffered his injury minutes into Jayson Tatum’s season debut on March 6. He underwent surgery the following day and missed the next 14 games, continuing to meet and travel with the team while he recovered. During games, Vucevic would pick the brains of assistant coaches DJ MacLeay and Tony Dobbins about defensive coverages and matchup nuances. In practice, he’d run through drills left-handed to maintain his conditioning.

Now healthy, the 35-year-old will use the final week of the regular season to reacclimate to game speed, regain the chemistry he built during his 12 pre-injury appearances and develop an on-court connection with Tatum, with whom he played alongside with for the first time on Sunday. Boston has four games remaining before the playoffs.

“As he continues to get some reps the next couple games, that’s stuff we iron out,” said Jaylen Brown, whose miscommunication with Vucevic on a pick-and-roll resulted in a third-quarter turnover. “But it’s great to have him back. He looks good so far, but we’ve just got to keep building toward the playoffs.”

The Celtics went 10-4 in Vucevic’s absence, getting strong frontcourt play from Queta and backup Luka Garza. Mazzulla said the big man’s monthlong layoff actually helped him digest the Celtics’ system, which he had been learning on the fly after his February trade from Chicago.

“Obviously, getting healthy was (priority) No. 1, keeping his conditioning, No. 2,” Mazzulla said. “He’s been at every film session, every walkthrough, practice, shootaround that we’ve had. So I think it’s kind of maybe even slowed down for him. I think seeing the game live from a different perspective — he was sitting right next to D-Mac and the staff — and just kind of seeing the game from a different standpoint, hearing the communication, I think it just slowed down for him and probably gave him even a better perspective.”

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic joked that he told Vucevic, a skilled shooter who’s averaged more than four 3-point attempts per game in each of the last seven seasons, to try shooting left-handed to rest his newly recovered right hand. Vucevic missed both of his threes against Toronto, going 2-for-5 from the field.

“Nikola brings a wealth of experience to this team,” Rajakovic said pregame. “He’s a player that can do so many things. He’s great playing at the top of the key, shooting, connecting with teammates, playmaking. He can also post up when needed, especially against matchups. Good offensive rebounder. He’s a complete player, and he’s a great fit with this team.”

Queta for Most Improved?

While Vucevic scuffled on Sunday, Queta delivered another standout showing, scoring 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

After the game, Brown said the 26-year-old 7-footer — who was fourth on Boston’s depth chart last season — should be a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

“Neemi’s been great,” Brown said. “He’s been just consistently getting better, protecting the rim, finishing, making those little shots, rebounding. He’s been great. In my opinion, he’s probably one of the most improved players this year. I don’t know if he’s up for the award, but he should be.”

Queta agrees. Though most oddsmakers view him as a long shot for that award — Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the current betting favorite — he believes he is deserving.

“I think about it all the time,” he said. “I feel like I made a good case for it, but that’s stuff that we can’t control. At the end of the day, I’m just helping the team win. And that’s my main goal. Obviously, that’s secondary, the Most Improved, but I’m just glad I’m helping my teammates getting to the spot we’re at right now. And whether I win it or don’t win it, it’s not going to change my perspective and the approach I take every night.”

Star brewing

A quartet of Boston sports stars gathered at Banners Kitchen & Tap on Saturday to promote the launch of Samuel Adams’ “Our City. Our Beer.” variety pack.

Celtics guard Derrick White, a pitchman for the Boston-based brewery since 2024, was joined by Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman and former Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.

The four addressed the fans in attendance, squared off in games of pop-a-shot, bubble hockey and ping-pong, and poured pints of their personalized beers — the (Derrick) White Ale, Crochet’s Pale Ale, Julian Edel-brau Lager and Big Z Pilsner, respectively.

White had crossed paths with Edelman once before, when the Patriots Hall of Famer addressed the team during a visit to the Celtics’ facility. But he’d never gotten to know him, Chara or Crochet until they teamed up for this collaboration.

“It’s been amazing,” White told the Herald. “Obviously, I’ve watched a lot of them for a long time, and now it’s just great to get to meet them and hang out with them. When (Sam Adams) told me about this idea and everything, I was definitely all in, and it’s been really cool.”

Off the rim

Former Celtics big man Charles Bassey, whose second 10-day contract with the team expired on Saturday, plans to sign with the Golden State Warriors, according to a report from HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Boston filled Bassey’s roster spot by converting Ron Harper Jr.’s two-way contract to a standard deal. … NBC Sports Boston utilized an all-female broadcast team for Sunday’s game. Abby Chin handled play-by-play duties alongside analysts Ashley Battle and Aneesah Morrow and reporters Kayla Burton and Noa Dalzell.