(Toronto) Jaylen Brown scored 23 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 108-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, spoiling the Toronto team’s debut in the NBA intra-season tournament .
Jayson Tatum added 17 points for the Celtics (10-2), who signed a fifth straight victory. The Boston team also improved to 2-0 in the group stage of the NBA intraseason tournament, putting them atop Group C in the East.
The intra-season tournament is new this season in the NBA.
Pascal Siakam and Dennis Schroder each provided 23 points for the Raptors (5-7), who donned their special new black and gold uniforms. The field was also painted black and gray.
The Raptors’ next game in the NBA Cup tournament will take place in Orlando, against the Magic, on November 21.
Gary Trent Jr., who was returning to action after a three-game absence due to a foot injury, and Siakam scored the Raptors’ first 17 points of the game. The Toronto team led 24-16 with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.
However, the Raptors lost their momentum when the referees called Siakam a third foul. Despite a challenge from the coach, the decision was upheld.
At the start of the second quarter, the Celtics went on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a Sam Hauser dunk, to take the lead in the duel.
At halftime, the Celtics returned to the locker room with a 65-49 lead.
Schroder had six points during a 9-0 Raptors run in the third quarter. Siakam also found Jakob Poeltl who completed a nice move to put the Toronto team ahead 77-76 with 2:58 left in the period.
However, their lead was short-lived, as the Celtics regained the lead 84-81 in the final moments of the third quarter.
The two teams then exchanged the lead throughout the fourth quarter.
With 26.8 seconds left, Derrick White made a three-pointer to give the Celtics the lead, prompting the Raptors to take a timeout.
With 11.1 seconds on the clock, Scottie Barnes failed to make a three-point shot that would have allowed the Raptors to tie the game, ending the hopes of the fans gathered at Scotiabank Arena.
The Raptors will play their final game of a four-game homestand against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.