Paul Pierce led a balanced attack with 20 points as the Boston Celtics avoided a letdown and instead provided a beatdown with a 122-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Rookie Luke Harangody added a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and Ray Allen needed just eight shots to net 17 points for the Celtics, who were coming off a 105-103 win against San Antonio on Wednesday and play at the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Rajon Rondo had nine points and seven assists one game after a triple-double that featured 22 assists, as the Celtics won their fourth straight since the point guard returned from missing seven games with an ankle injury. It was also the 3,000th win in Celtics history.
Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza led five starters in double figures with 17 each for the Raptors, who lost the season series 3-1 despite shooting 50.6 percent in this game.
Harangody hit all four of his first-quarter shots and the Celtics went on to match a season high with 67 points in the first half on 65.8 percent shooting in forging a 22-point lead. Boston shot 61.3 percent against the Spurs and finished at 57.5 percent against Toronto.
Toronto | Boston | |
DeMar DeRozan 20 | Scoring | Paul Pierce 20 |
Jose Calderon 9 | Assists | Rajon Rondo 7 |
Joey Dorsey 6 | Rebounds | Luke Harangody 11 |
DeMar DeRozan 4 | Free Throws Made | Glen Davis 6 |
Andrea Bargnani 2 | Steals | Paul Pierce 2 |
Andrea Bargnani 2 | Blocks | Luke Harangody 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Toronto | 102 | 50.6 | 6-16 | 16-23 | 25 | 31 | 7 | 8 | 13 |
Boston | 122 | 57.5 | 11-21 | 19-28 | 31 | 43 | 2 | 4 | 16 |