Celtics Make Franchise History with Victory Over Raptors

Boston had a New Year's Eve to remember against Toronto.

Dec 31, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) controls the ball while Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji (30) defends during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

On New Year's Eve, the mighty Boston Celtics blew out the Toronto Raptors to the tune of a 125-71 obliteration in a home matinee.

Per ESPN, the Celtics' 54-point margin of victory represents the second-biggest such gap in a Boston win across the franchise's 78-year history.

None of Boston's top seven healthy players (center Kristaps Porzingis sat out again with a left ankle sprain, though All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday returned from a right shoulder impingement) played 30 or more minutes. All-NBA power forward Jayson Tatum led Boston with 23 points on 6-fo-13 shooting from the field (4-of-9 from deep) and 7-of-11 shooting from the foul line, along with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. Of the aforementioned top seven (Joe Mazzulla's typical starters, plus Al Horford, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser), only Horford didn't score in double digits. In fact, Horford couldn't score at all, notching zero points on 0-of-7 shooting from the floor (0-of-6 from deep), along with six boards, four assists and a pair of steals in 20:58.

Only one Raptors player, All-Star forward Scottie Barnes, scored in double digits, logging 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the floor, while also pulling down 13 rebounds.

With Holiday back, Boston's clamp-down defense was in full force. The Celtics limited Toronto to just 27-of-86 shooting from the floor (31.4 percent) and 10-of-40 shooting from the 3-point line (25 percent). After connecting on just 38 percent of their field goals in the contest's first half, the Celtics shot 47-of-87 from the floor (54 percent) and 22-of-43 from deep (51.2 percent). Boston's passing game was also fairly on-point. The Celtics enjoyed a 29-18 edge in assists. The Celtics also massacred the Raptors in the paint, 44-26, while scoring 20 points off Toronto's 21 turnovers.

After building out a 45-35 edge in a low-scoring first half, Boston massacred Toronto 45-18 in the third frame thanks to a barrage of triple tries, going 10-of-12 from long range. Head coach Joe Mazzulla sat out starters Tatum, Horford, Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

The victory improved the Celtics' record to 24-9 on the season, while dropping the Raptors to 7-26 and the Eastern Conference's No. 14 seed. Next up for Boston is a January 2 clash with the 17-14 Minnesota Timberwolves.

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