- On a night when the Raptors learned they will be without all-star forward Chris Bosh for at least the remainder of the regular season, Toronto predictably went down in defeat to the Boston Celtics 115-104. The Raptors have now lost three straight as they struggle to hold on to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference minus their franchise player.
- Reggie Evans took Bosh’s place in the starting lineup. Well, Evans ran out with the starters at least. Shooting 1-6 from the field in just over 16 minutes isn’t going to make anyone forget about CB4.
- Of course, with Bosh out, Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu stepped up… right? Umm, not so much. Bargnani put up an absolutely embarrassing shooting and rebounding performance for a seven-foot centre. And Turkoglu was done after just over seven minutes of action with a nasal injury (but you can probably run into him in Yorkville later this evening, if you’re so inclined).
- Sonny Weems continued to shine in a starting role, dropping 17 points in a first half that saw Toronto take a 54-52 lead into the locker room. Weems finished with a career-high 21 points.
- But this is the NBA: Where the third quarter happens. The Raptors had no answer for the veteran Celtics in the third frame and found themselves staring at a six-point deficit.
- From there, it was academic as the Celtics cruised to an easy win highlighted by a Ray Allen ball fake/layup that looked like something out of Rucker Park.
- Ultimately, the Celtics shot a high percentage (.563) and got to the free-throw line (28-33) while the Raptors are stuck paying three chumps (Bargnani, Turkoglu and Jose Calderon) more than US$26 million combined.
- Next up, the Raptors travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks on Friday. That should work out well.