The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown on Monday night but that did prevent them from taking care of business against the Toronto Raptors once again with a 105-96 win. Boston used a 20-4 run to close the third quarter led by Jayson Tatum to take control of the game and eventually held off a late charge from a frisky Raptors squad that dropped to 15-25 on the year.
The Celtics improved to an NBA-best 31-9 on the year, which is their second-best start in franchise history after 40 games over the last 40 seasons, trialing just the 2007-08 Celtics who opened with a 33-7 start. Four of those wins this season for Boston have come over Toronto as they’ve swept the season series against their division rival before the halfway point of the year. That stretch has carried over across Boston’s play against the Atlantic Division where they have gone 11-1 against the Raptors, Nets, Knicks and 76ers, dropping just one game in Philadelphia back in November.
The Celtics’ domination over their division rivals have been particularly impressive against the Raptors given who evenly matched the two teams were matched just a few years ago in the NBA bubble.
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Since then, Boston has won 12 of their last 14 head-to-head matchups against the Raptors including eight straight wins over the past two years. That’s the longest active winning streak the Celtics currently have against an NBA opponent. Boston’s dominance against the Raptors is tied for the 10th-longest active winning streak against an opponent in the league.
The Celtics have won two straight games overall now and will see their schedule lighten up back at TD Garden on Wednesday night when the Spurs come to town. Meanwhile, the Raptors have now lost four straight games and could elect to become more of a seller in the coming weeks before the trade deadline. Given Boston’s dominance in the Atlantic Division in recent seasons, it may be a long road back to competitiveness for the Raptors.
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