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The Toronto Raptors came out of the gates firing in their Wednesday night clash against a Boston Celtics team that is on the second night of a back-to-back after coming off a spirited blowout victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. They scored 38 points in the first quarter, thanks in large part to a three-point barrage that tied a franchise record.
According to Sportsnet Stats on X, the Raptors, by virtue of making 10 threes in the first quarter, tied the franchise record for most threes made in a single quarter. They went 10-of-18 from deep in the quarter, and that blistering start gave them a nine-point lead after 12 minutes of play.
Toronto ended up with 16 made threes on the night on 43 attempts, which was good for a 37.2% clip. However, their offense sputtered for the rest of the game as the Celtics buckled down on defense.
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The Raptors scored just 55 more points for the final three quarters, including just 32 in the second half, as the Celtics pulled away in crunch time with a 98-93 victory.
Toronto still had a chance to win the game in the dying embers. After Jayson Tatum made two free throws to give Boston a one-point lead, 94-93, RJ Barrett would miss a go-ahead layup attempt. The Celtics would then get the defensive board, and Neemias Queta drilled two huge free throws to push their lead to three.
The Raptors then failed to execute on an out of bounds play in an attempt to tie the game and force overtime. Jamison Battle would force a pass to Immanuel Quickley to the opposite side, and Sam Hauser intercepted the ball — sealing the defeat for Toronto.
With Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard both on the shelf, this was still a promising performance for the Raptors. Nonetheless, this latest defeat knocks them down to below .500 on the season (5-6), and they will be desperate to buy enough time for both of their star forwards to recover.
Related: Is Scottie Barnes playing tonight? Raptors vs. Celtics injury report
Related: Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard to miss 3rd straight week with knee injury
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raptors-record-tying-feat-wasted-060155202.html
