The Boston Celtics walked into Toronto on Saturday afternoon without Jaylen Brown, and still walked out with a convincing 112-96 win over the Raptors. That’s the kind of depth and resilience that championship-caliber teams are built on. With Brown sidelined due to illness, the Celtics leaned into a true team effort - and it paid off.
This wasn’t just the Jayson Tatum show, though he did his part. Boston’s veteran core stepped up, but what really stood out was how the bench filled in the gaps. It was a balanced, composed performance - the kind that shows why Boston sits near the top of the East.
But if you ask Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković, this game wasn’t lost on the scoreboard - it was lost on the glass.
“I think we did an outstanding job guarding this team,” Rajaković said postgame. And he’s not wrong.
Toronto held Boston to just 30% shooting from beyond the arc - a rare off-night for one of the league’s most dangerous three-point shooting squads. In fact, Rajaković pointed out this was the first time all season Boston had won a game while shooting under 36% from deep.
So how did the Celtics still pull away? Offensive rebounding.
Hustle plays. Second-chance points.
“They got 17 offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points,” Rajaković noted. “The game was there - because of that, we were not able to get stops and run our style of basketball.”
And that’s the key. Toronto wants to get out and run, play in transition, and dictate pace. But when you're constantly digging out from under offensive rebounds, you're forced into a slower, half-court game - and that’s not where this Raptors team thrives.
Still, the Raptors didn’t fold. “I thought we competed for the big part of the game,” Rajaković said.
And they did. But against a team like Boston, effort only gets you so far.
Players like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Anfernee Simons (yes, that’s the kind of depth Boston is rolling with right now) made timely shots - not just from deep, but off the dribble, from midrange, and in key moments when the Raptors were threatening to claw back in.
That’s what separates good teams from great ones. Even on a night when the Celtics' three-point shot wasn’t falling, they found other ways to win. They crashed the boards, defended with purpose, and got big-time contributions from role players who know how to step up when the lights are on.
For Toronto, it’s a lesson in margins. They defended well, they competed, but they couldn’t control the glass - and that was the difference.
Against a team like Boston, one or two possessions can swing the entire game. On Saturday, those swings came off missed shots and second-chance buckets.
The Celtics continue to show they’re more than just top-heavy talent. And the Raptors, despite the loss, showed flashes of the gritty, defensive identity Rajaković is trying to build. But in this one, Boston’s depth and rebounding dominance told the full story.