Marcus Smart’s fourth-quarter surge helps Celtics beat Raptors
Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden on November 19, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images/AFP
Marcus Smart scored eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds and six assists as the visiting Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 109-97 on Sunday night.
Al Horford added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who ended a two-game losing streak.
Article continues after this advertisementJayson Tatum was held to eight points, but had 10 assists for the Celtics, who have won two of their three games with the Raptors.
Josh Richardson contributed 18 points for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown added 16 points, Grant Williams 15 and Enes Kanter had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Fred VanVleet had 27 points for the Raptors, who dropped to 2-7 in home games. Scottie Barnes added 21 points for Toronto and Pascal Siakam had 18, and Svi Mykhailiuk 12.
Article continues after this advertisementBoston had a four-point lead after the third quarter and scored the first four points of the fourth quarter before Toronto cut the lead to one. Boston responded with a 9-0 run capped by Smart’s 3-pointer with 7:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Boston’s lead reached 13 on Smart’s 3-pointer with 6:21 to play. Richardson’s driving layup with 2:31 to play restored the 13-point lead.
Marcus Smart brought the energy tonight as our @gatorade player of the game 🔋 pic.twitter.com/oamJllAsI0
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 29, 2021
The Celtics led 27-26 after the first quarter.
The Celtics scored the first eight points of the second quarter, six by Richardson. Toronto cut the lead to one point on Siakam’s dunk with 5:38 remaining in the first half. Horford’s 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining completed a 7-0 run that gave Boston an eight-point lead. The Celtics led 54-51 at halftime.
VanVleet scored the first three points of the second half to tie the game. Toronto took a 71-70 lead on VanVleet’s 3-pointer with 5:09 to play in the third quarter. The game was tied again when Horford made a seven-footer with 3:02 remaining. The Celtics scored the next five points, including Smart’s 3-pointer. The lead reached six and Boston led 80-76 after three quarters. The score was tied six times in the quarter.
The Raptors were without OG Anunoby (hip pointer), Khem Birch (knee) and Gary Trent Jr.
The Celtics were without Robert Williams (illness) and Dennis Schroder (ankle).
