Jaylen Brown had 31 points (15 in the first quarter) and a season-high 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 120-118 for their fifth straight win.
Luke Kornet’s alley oop dunk put the Celtics ahead for good with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors got within 118-117 on Dennis Schröder’s free throw with 15 seconds to play, but Jrue Holiday answered with a free throw, and the Raptors got no closer.
During clutch time, the Celtics outscored the Raptors 15-9. Derrick White scored 9 of the Celtics’ 15 on 2 for 3 shooting and 4 for 4 at the line.
White had 21 points, 7 assists and 3 steals but shot 5 for 19, and Kornet added 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks on 9 for 11 shooting. The Celtics had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Raptors, Scottie Barnes had 30 points (21 on 7 3-pointers), 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Pascal Siakam added 27 points. Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and 10 rebounds. All 13 of Jalen McDaniels’ points came in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors got 9 offensive rebounds, about 4 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. They outscored the Celtics 22-4 off turnovers. The Raptors outscored the Celtics 32-16 in 10 minutes with Schröder, Siakam, Anunoby, McDaniels and Barnes on the floor together.