Kyrie Irving had 27 points and a season-high 18 assists, and the Boston Celtics went on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Toronto Raptors 117-108.
It was tied at 106 when Irving’s 18-foot step-back jumper put the Celtics ahead for good with 2:15 left. They pulled away to a 117-106 lead with 26 seconds left.
During clutch time, the Celtics outscored the Raptors 16-8. Jayson Tatum scored 6 of the Celtics’ 16 on 2 for 2 shooting and 1 for 1 at the line. Late in the fourth quarter, Irving had 6 of his 18 assists, 1 of them on a basket by Tatum that put the Celtics ahead.
Al Horford scored a season-high 24 points (12 in the third quarter) on 9 for 12 shooting. Irving assisted on 8 of Horford’s 9 baskets, 2 of them during the 11-0 run.
For the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard had 33 points and 4 steals, and Serge Ibaka added 22 points (18 in the paint) and 10 rebounds.
The Celtics shot 50.0% from the field and 46.7% from 3 to the Raptors’ 44.6% and 24.1%. The Raptors gave up 14 offensive rebounds, about 4 more than usual for the shots the Celtics missed.