The Celtics lost Kristaps Porziņģis minutes before game time, a late scratch already something they dealt with twice previously this year. So it only became a slight surprise, with three-guard lineups, every double-big combination and players up and down the lineup appearing all season so far, that the starting lineup was one Boston never used before. Three of them sported headbands.
Luke Kornet, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford also sat inactive, and with only two centers available, Joe Mazzulla called on neither for the spot start. Jayson Tatum slid over to center and Torrey Craig entered the lineup alongside Sam Hauser. Tatum made the call for the wardrobe choice.
That’s how the most carefree night of the season began for the Celtics, winning mostly wire-to-wire with few charges by the Raptors actually threatening them on the way to a 111-101 Boston win. Mazzulla said on 98.5 The Sports Hub last week that the team doesn’t want to reach the postseason without having tried something they’ll need later. Tuesday’s game saw him try nearly everything.
That it led to a win where they lost their worst game one month earlier made it even better. Since that night, Jan. 15, Boston’s won 14-of-18.
Small ball, a rare look for a team leaning into double-big play recently, thrived around the Tatum and Derrick White two-man game early, White also in headband. Tatum fed Jaylen Brown inside and White from out around a layup and three of his own. He scored 19 points with six rebounds, dishing 11 assists for the second time this month and only the third time of his career, falling one short of matching his career high. The Celtics won by 20 points in his 40 minutes, Tatum able to glue the unfamiliar rotations Mazzulla cycled through that included appearances by Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and G-League call up JD Davison in the second half.
“That guy is the best player on the best team in the NBA,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. “I don’t think that he gets enough credit for what he does on both ends of the floor for that team. Offensively, defensively, we tried different things against him. We were trying to frustrate him with our physicality. He just kept going and kept making the right decisions. They’re really lucky to have a guy like him. Amazing player. I’m a really, really big fan of his.”
"That guy is the best player on the best team in the NBA."
– Raptors HC Darko Rajaković with high praise for Jayson Tatum 🤝 pic.twitter.com/hOduF5QqgE
— NBA (@NBA) February 26, 2025
Mazzulla continued to allow Tatum to gain rhythm and flow through a full first quarter stint for the third straight game since Brown’s return from injury. He set up Payton Pritchard for an eight-point burst late in the quarter, Neemias Queta grabbed two offensive rebounds and finished three shots while Walsh entered with a block and put-back finish immediately. Boston led by 11 points with Tatum only attempting five shots early.
The biggest skid began at the start of the first with empty possessions in eight of their first trips down the court to start the second. Toronto pulled within one point, then only took a lead for 10 seconds before the Celtics regained control for the rest of the night. Brown and Tatum took advantage in isolation while White made Toronto pay when they shifted more attention toward the Jays. Defensively, the Celtics played away from Raptors shooters with Queta on a night where Toronto managed only 15.2% shooting from deep. Tatum set up Brown for a pair of finishes around the rim, led Pritchard inside alongside his own pull-up three and put-back of an outside miss.
Mazzulla’s imprint began at halftime, switching Pritchard into the starting unit ahead by 12 points on a slow shooting night for Craig (2-7 FG, 0-5 3PT). Pritchard carved out an offensive rebound that answered a 7-0 Raptors run with a Tatum three. Then, after a turnover and collision, Brown exited the game for the final eight minutes of the third, forcing another Mazzulla pivot back to Craig. Craig and Scheierman traded three-point misses before Mazzulla reached for Davison for rare NBA rotation minutes. He and Scheierman connected on a late shot clock runner leading by only nine points late in the third.
Two plays earlier, Mazzulla shifted away from one of his philosophies by calling a timeout with Craig stuck underneath the rim following his offensive rebound. He normally stays away from calling loose ball timeouts, valuing them later in games, but he had one about to expire. Mazzulla later used one at the start of the fourth when Queta dove on the floor for a defensive rebound, likely signaling that he wanted to give his depth players a boost for their efforts.
By then, Brown returned for a decisive four points that pushed Boston ahead by 17 points. White and Tatum staved off a Toronto charge back in their two-man game. After another 4-0 Raptors run, Mazzulla called timeout when Jamal Shead blocked White, drew up a Hauser off-ball screen for Queta, who ran to the rim unhindered and caught White’s in-bound alley oop. The ATO effectively ended the game with Boston ahead by nine points and three minutes remaining, though Brown’s exit one play later pulled Pritchard back into the closing stretch where grabbed an offensive rebound to set White up for three and capped off a carefree night with a layup.
- Brown, dealing with knee, shoulder and additional lower body ailments this year, played 33 minutes despite his apparent uncomfortable moments and exits throughout. His status is worth watching ahead of Wednesday’s back-to-back in Detroit. Kornet missed the win for personal reasons, Horford skipped his usual back-to-back, Holiday rested and Porziņģis exhibited illness symptoms.
- Mazzulla admitted to reporters that the opportunity to play him in the second half of the back-to-back factored into holding Porziņģis back. Detroit is rising in the east with seven straight wins and is in play as a potential first or second round playoff opponent. They’re currently sixth in the east, 1.0 game behind Indiana and Milwaukee for home court advantage as the fourth seed.
- Gary Washburn reported Brown has a bruised left quad and is unsure if he’ll play on Wednesday.
