The Toronto Raptors will attempt to collect their first road victory Saturday night when they visit the Boston Celtics for the first of four meetings between the teams this season.
The Raptors are 0-7 in road games. The Celtics are only 3-2 at home but 10-3 overall.
It will be the second game in as many nights for Toronto, which is coming off Friday night’s 99-95 loss against Detroit in the second NBA Cup game for each team. The loss extended Toronto’s overall losing streak to six games.
Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl had 25 points and 18 rebounds, but the Raptors dropped to 0-2 in NBA Cup play.
“We depend on (Poeltl) a lot,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He needs to do a lot for us offensively and defensively. … When he is connected with his teammates he’s able to score, but also find his teammates. I think he’s making huge strides for us.”
Toronto’s RJ Barrett added 22 points in Friday’s loss. Gradey Dick scored 16 but was 1 of 10 from 3-point range.
Boston hasn’t played since it beat Brooklyn 139-114 Wednesday night. Jayson Tatum had 36 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the win. Boston also received 24 points and 12 rebounds from Jaylen Brown and 23 points from Payton Pritchard.
The 139 points were the most the Celtics have scored in a game this season. Boston scored 74 points in the second half.
That victory came one night after Boston lost 117-116 to Atlanta at home. The Hawks prevailed even though Trae Young, the team’s leading scorer, didn’t play because of right Achilles tendinitis.
“As far as our attitude and our bounce-back, I thought that was important,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “There’s going to be ebbs and flows throughout the season. I care more about how we respond to things when they don’t go our way, and I liked the approach that we had to the game today on both ends of the floor.”
Boston committed 20 turnovers against the Hawks, who had a 19-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Celtics turned the ball over seven times and had a 12-3 edge in offensive rebounds against the Nets.
“Back to back, obviously heavy legs and stuff like that,” Brown said after the Brooklyn game. “It took a little bit to get settled into the game, but great adjustment, great response. It was just about being physical, being tough and embracing that.”
Tatum, at an average of 30.2 points a game, and Brown (25.4) are Boston’s leading scorers this season. Tatum also leads the team in rebounds (7.6) and steals (1.5). Brown is second on the team in rebounds (7.2) and is tied with Pritchard for second in steals (1.2)
“It starts with them taking responsibility as far as what needs to be done on the floor,” Mazzulla said. “So they played at a high level on both ends of the floor. Defensively, their communication, the accountability on their individual defense. Then offensively, taking the shots that they want to take and getting the ball where it needs to get to.
“So it’s a credit to them, and they know how important two-way basketball on both ends of the floor is for our success.”
For the Raptors, Barrett is averaging a team-high 21.4 points a game, and Poeltl is first in rebounds at 11.6.
