It was billed as a potential Eastern Conference final preview, but only one team looked like a contender. The Raptors, currently in second place in the East, hosted the conference-leading Boston Celtics on Wednesday (AEDT) at Air Canada Centre, with the Raptors steamrolling to a 111-91 victory.
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Led by the hot-shooting Kyle Lowry, the Raptors outscored Boston in all four quarters. Lowry (23 points) was one of five Toronto players in double figures. The victory moves Toronto (37-16) to within one game of the Celtics (39-16), with the Raptors holding two games in hand.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's game:
Quick starters
The Raptors wanted to establish home-court dominance early, and they were able to do so with relative ease. Starting with Lowry's three-triple first quarter, Toronto found a rhythm from the outset and kept it up throughout the opening two quarters.
The Raptors went into the locker room with a 21-point lead, thanks to 55 percent shooting against the best defensive team in the NBA.
Things only got worse for Boston in the second half.
Sharing is caring
Toronto is a team that likes to move the ball around, and that was certainly the theme at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday (AEDT). The Raptors passed Boston into submission, racking up 29 assists on 40 field goals and gave the Celtics very little chance to slow the game down.
Fred VanVleet led the way with eight assists just over 30 minutes of play.
Protect the glass
One element of the game that the Raptors have struggled with this season is rebounding, especially under their own rim.
Toronto has been exposed on the defensive glass on several occasions, but on Tuesday the Raptors had a near-perfect game in holding Boston to just nine offensive rebounds.
The Raptors were by no means dominant, hauling in just 39 total rebounds to the Celtics' 38, but they successfully kept Boston from taking advantage of a known Toronto weakness.