Recap: Celtics take down the Toronto Raptors in most exciting game of the year, 117-108

In a nutshell

You thought the game against Indiana was good? This was the game of the year. The trio of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford was spectacular as the Celtics won an extremely competitive game. Irving led the way as usual with 27 points (11-19 shooting) and a career-high 18 (!!!) assists.

What went right

• Gordon Hayward started the game on the right foot (get it?) by hitting his first three shots in the first quarter for seven points (he finished the half with 16). Aron Baynes also hit his first three shots in his first game back after breaking his hand a few weeks ago. And Rozier hit his first two shots, too! What does it all mean?! What timeline is this?
• The Celtics forced two consecutive shot clock violations in the second quarter. Against the Raptors, that seems unthinkable. It’s worth noting that Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam were all on the bench at the time (I’ll never understand why Toronto would do this).
• Also in the second quarter, the Celtics held the Raptors to zero field goals for EIGHT MINUTES. That’s, like, a really long time. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Aron Baynes’ return had an immediate impact on the defense.
• Kyrie Irving. I wasn’t sure if we would see this side of him after he had such a quiet third quarter, and then Uncle Drew flipped the switch. Down the stretch, he hit a pull-up from midrange, a DEEP three over Leonard, and threw an alley-oop to Al Horford on consecutive plays. Everybody did their job on defense and the Celtics managed to build a nine point lead with less than a minute to go. I complain a lot about the Celtics neglecting the hot hand, so this was a pleasure to see. Maybe this is a hot take, but I think your best players should have the ball at the end of the game. Just my two cents.

What went wrong

• Careless turnovers in the first quarter gave Toronto an early lead. With 6:36 left in the first quarter the Celtics already had three turnovers (and only four field goals). The Raptors had zero turnovers to that point (and eight field goals).
• Does Jayson Tatum’s shooting form look a bit off to anybody else? It looks to me like there’s a lot of unnecessary arm movement when he shoots from midrange or from three. As I typed this, Tatum passed up taking contact behind the three-point line to step in for a shot instead. Smart cleaned up the play with a layup, but Tatum could have had three free throws, which would have been more efficient basketball. (Tatum passed up on another three to step in for a long two at the end of the third quarter. I wish they programmed his self-tying robot shoes to zap him every time he did that.)
• Boston’s 16 point lead disappeared in the blink of an eye. Halftime naturally killed some momentum and the Celtics missed a ton of easy opportunities to score. Also, they let Greg Monroe score points. Gross. To be fair, Toronto played some pretty solid basketball and did something I wish the Celtics would do a little more – they fed the hot hand. Serge Ibaka had 20 field goals before the end of the third and kept Toronto in the game while some of the other starters rested on the bench. Meanwhile, Boston did not look for Irving or Hayward to do much out of the break. Talk about depth all you want – those guys need to be involved for every minute they’re out there for the Celtics to be good.

What the hell

Just to follow up on my little Tatum rant:

WHY ARE YOU STEPPING IN JAYSON?!

— Ryan Bernardoni (@dangercart) January 17, 2019

Highlights

⏪ Kyrie starts with the spin move then dishes to Al Horford for two (@AAANe_MAnews) #AAANortheast pic.twitter.com/mMKXlryoJH

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 17, 2019

Al Horford JAMS IT IN (@AAANe_MAnews) #AAANortheast pic.twitter.com/ZgiugYzTe3

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 17, 2019

Smart finds Baynes under the rim (@AAANe_MAnews) #AAANortheast pic.twitter.com/vkPXWhmmBP

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 17, 2019

THIS IS KYRIE'S HOUSE (@AAANe_MAnews) #AAANortheast pic.twitter.com/6WwIz76Rj2

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 17, 2019

Box score