Quick Reaction: Celtics 97, Raptors 110

Barrett made a pinpoint bounce-pass to Agbaji streaking to the hoop in transition. He did a great job getting to the middle and pinging passes around in the half court as well. Barrett made a well-timed baseline back-cut that he finished with a reverse lay after a nice feed from Dick. Barrett grabbed a steal off Jaylen Brown directly after and returned the favour, finding Dick on the break for a layup. Later Barrett came off a screen and found Agbaji for an open corner 3. As the game progressed Barrett was frequently able to bully his way to rim and finished more often than not.

Barnes flashed middle and drew the defence before finding Mitchell open in the corner for a made 3. Next trip down the floor he canned a transition triple from the wing. Barnes operated a great pick n’ roll with Poeltl, out-waiting the defence and finding the big man at the end of his roll for an easy finish. He started the second half with back-to back smooth mid-range pull-ups. Barnes played big on defence, gumming up passing lanes and actions. He also had a couple assertive blocks. There was a possession in the third where Barnes fought over a screen, neutralizing the action, and proceeded to clap repetitively in Jayson Tatum’s face amid a Raptors run. Gotta love it.

Picture perfect Poeltl. The Raptors were switching the Tatum Porzingis pick n’ roll early, and Poeltl did a good job twice making Tatum shoot over the top. The seven-footer always sets immense and meticulous screens. Also, his push shot is a thing of beauty. The Raptors flattened out for Barnes on their final possession of the first half, and the Austrian Hammer spaced out to the dunker after Porzingis helped on the Barnes and Bruce Brown pick n’ roll. Barnes made the read and found Poeltl for the automatic make from 11 feet. He finished everything in the third displaying impeccable footwork and a deft touch. Poeltl had 10 in the quarter.

Dick’s shooting was off in the first half but he kept firing and also stayed aggressive driving closeouts. He also got downhill off a DHO and found Barrett for an open corner triple. With Dick’s momentum taking him towards the corner, he made a sweet mid-range pull-up over Horford. He maneuvered out of the triple threat with a stutter-rip and slashed into space, before making a perfectly placed pass to Barrett cutting baseline for the finish. Later, Dick lifted his defender with an up-fake, sidestepped, and canned a 3 from above-the-break. He was as much of a whirling dervish as ever, running off of handoffs, flares, wide pin downs, you name it!

He hit his first triple, an open look from the corner – something that is important for Mitchell to do to solidify himself as a rotation player in the NBA. He also had a nice left-handed finish on a transition take and sprinted to the block to get set and take a charge from Porzingis. Mitchell had a great stint in the third quarter where he made a gorgeous pocket pass to Poeltl on the roll, and then later took a handoff from the Austrian big and got to the hoop for a tough and-one finish.

Agbaji had a nice running reverse lay in transition after a feed from Barrett. The usually stalwart defender wasn’t at his sharpest off the ball, including a play where the Celtics went five-out and Agbaji got back-cut by Jaylen Brown. He left the game in the second quarter after a pass slipped through his hands and he fell and caught himself with his right hand. It was unclear what caused it but he was bleeding significantly and reportedly had to get stitches. Savanna Hamilton confirmed on the broadcast that Agbaji was unable to return.

Came into the game and ran off a get action, curled into the paint and finished with a high arcing floater. Next, he hit a late-clock fading triple from the corner, making the rookie guard nine for his last 11 from distance. Shead’s handle looked good at times too. He rocked Pritchard to sleep on one possession before bursting past, finding Barrett sprinting downhill from beyond the arc on a stampede cut for the drive and finish.

Brown made some quality cuts, including one in behind the help for a layup in the fourth, giving the Raptors their largest lead of the night. On the next possession, he grabbed two offensive boards eventually drawing a foul. Understated game from Brown and he missed some shots, but he was effective on the margins.

No amount of spacing from the five spot is worth Olynyk’s deficiencies. He is unbelievably slow. He got switched onto Tatum on a screen and it was like Ferrari taking on a horse-drawn carriage. How quickly Tatum had multiple steps on Olynyk was staggering. He did make a fairly deep above-the-break 3, all of his free throws and some quality passes. Olynyk fits well into the Raptors’ offence but the defence is such an extreme negative that it often makes his minutes hard to stomach.

Boucher hit his first two shots after coming into the game, a mid-range pull-up and a corner 3. Stay hot Chris! He came into the game having recorded the best TS% of any Raptor over a four-game stretch (97 percent). Boucher was also relentless as ever, hurling himself at rebounds and closeouts, mostly to the benefit of the Raptors (once he fouled on a corner 3, a classic Boucher crime of passion). The Boucher-sanity run came to an end but he was truly tenacious on the boards in this game.

He missed an open corner 3 right after coming into the game, but immediately made a successful x-out rotation to contest a Derrick White triple on the other end.

He won a challenge! No complaints tonight. Rotations were solid. The troops were motivated. The Raptors usually haven’t been finishing the quality looks that his offensive philosophy generates, but tonight, they were. Rajakovic also had a quick trigger with his timeouts, taking one at the first sign of any trouble and swiftly righting the ship.