It will be a battle for Eastern Conference supremacy when the first-place Raptors visit TD Garden to take on the No. 2 Celtics on Saturday night.
Boston (52-23) is coming off a thrilling last-second win in Utah on Wednesday. Without All-Stars Kyrie Irving (knee) and Al Horford (ankle), Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics with 21 points; his 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining in the game gave Boston its fifth straight win. The shorthanded Celtics were also without Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris and Daniel Theis in their win over the Jazz.
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After their recent surge, the Celtics are just three games behind Toronto (55-20) for the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed. Saturday is one of two remaining meetings between the Atlantic Division foes this season — they meet again on April 4. The teams split their first two meetings; each game was won by the home team. A win Saturday would make the Celtics' outside shot at first place in the East much more realistic.
In its most recent outing Tuesday night, Toronto used a balanced offensive attack to defeat Denver 114-110. Seven Raptors scored in double figures; DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Fred VanVleet each scored a team-high 15 points apiece.
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Toronto has relied heavily on its bench production this season. At 42 points per game, the Raptors' bench is the fourth-highest scoring reserve group in the league. VanVleet leads a six-player second unit that also features OG Anunoby, C.J. Miles, Jakob Poeltl, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam and Delon Wright.
Will Toronto use its depth to move closer to clinching the first No. 1 seed in franchise history, or will the Celtics continue to gain ground?
Raptors vs. Celtics
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: TD Garden, Boston
TV: NBA TV
Streaming: fuboTV (sign up for a 7-day free trial)
