Short-handed Raptors hang tough in loss to Celtics

BOSTON — The Toronto Raptors dressing room was more buoyant than expected, given that RJ Barrett had his left ankle deep in a tub of ice, Brandon Ingram had his left thumb in a splint and Scottie Barnes was nowhere to be seen. 

College football playoffs, NFL playoffs. Predictions were being made. Side bets were formulating. 

Maybe that’s what disaster averted looks like. 

The Raptors hadn’t played once through 38 games this season without Barnes and Ingram in the lineup, their best defender and best scorer, respectively. 

Eventually, that streak was going to end. Two stars playing all 82 is not part of the NBA anymore. Missing either would be tough, though. 

So, how about playing without both? 

It would seem like an impossible situation for a team already missing starting centre Jakob Poeltl (back) for all but six minutes of floor time since Dec. 16, a stretch of 12 games and counting. 

Consider that missing starting wing Barrett for 15 games recently coincides with a 6-9 slide.

But that was the predicament the Raptors found themselves in Friday night. 

Making the matter worse was that they were playing the surging Celtics on their always tough homecourt at TD Garden. 

And things got a little worse still when Barrett (19 points and seven assists) had to leave the game in the fourth quarter after rolling his ankle stepping on Celtics forward Sam Hauser’s foot. 

But in the end, it wasn’t all that bad, let’s just say that. 

Yes, the Raptors lost 125-117 to snap their modest three-game winning streak and drop their record to 22-16, falling two games behind the third-place Celtics (24-13) in the Eastern Conference standings. 

But they were hardly embarrassed, which seemed like it could be on the table when the ball went up, and certainly when Boston made seven of their first eight shots
— three layups, three triples, divided by one mid-range pull-up by Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (27 points on 12-of-19 shooting, along with eight assists), who was the knot the Raptors couldn’t untie all game. 

The Raptors were down 12 after 7:30, and it looked like it might be one of those games decided by halftime. 

It didn’t work out that way at all. Flash forward to the midpoint of the second quarter, and a Barrett triple gave the Raptors the lead. It was brief and there wouldn’t be another, but it was symbolic.

And while the Raptors never seemed a solid bet to win the game — especially when they fell behind by 20 on a Pritchard jumper (sensing a theme?) with just under four minutes left in the third quarter — they never let go of the rope. 

Amazingly, a Ja’Kobe Walter triple midway through the fourth pulled the Raptors within five. It was a real game much longer than anyone properly could have expected.

“I’m not very satisfied with how we started the game, I thought we allowed some very easy points in transition and open shots,” said Darko Rajakovic. “But outside the first five minutes, I thought we really competed.”

Unfortunately when Boston got sight of the finish line they hit the gas and the Raptors make-shift lineups that featured long stints from the likes of Alijah Martin (15 minutes) and Jonathan Mogbo (19 minutes) among others who have played most of their time in the G-League or been on the fringes of the Raptors rotation didn’t have the horse power to keep up.

Jaylen Brown, Pritchard and Derrick White — the remaining healthy core from Boston’s 2024 championship team and the backbone behind their surprising climb up the Eastern Conference standings, even absent perennial all-NBA forward Jayson Tatum (Achilles tear) — scored 13 of Boston’s final 15 points as the Celtics pulled away and eventually were able to coast home. 

The Raptors have some bigger picture problems as they finish a quick two-game road trip and head home for a back-to-back against Philadelphia, which is a half-game behind the Raptors in fifth place in the East.

After hosting the Sixers for two, the Raptors play six of their next seven games on the road. 

While Barnes and Ingram are day-to-day, any games they end up missing put the Raptors at a deep disadvantage. The possibility of Barrett missing more time is another concern. 

Perhaps more concerning still is that Poeltl, who has been cleared for contact and is theoretically ramping up his conditioning for a return some time in the coming week, is still feeling some discomfort in his workouts, per sources. It’s nothing structural
— which has been the consistent message since the problem first flared up in training camp — but it’s still a hurdle he’s going to have to clear to get back to full strength. 

On the bright side, the missing bodies gave Rajakovic a chance to see some players under the bright lights against a good team for longer stints than he’s been able to so far this season. 

Martin, who the Raptors drafted 39th overall last summer, has been brilliant with Raptors 905, but had only seen seven minutes of NBA action over three appearances so far. 

But the burly wing looked comfortable matching up against Brown, a leading MVP candidate who came into the game averaging 29.7 points per game on 50.1 per cent shooting. Brown finished with 25 points but shot just 6-of-16 from the floor. 

“I felt good, really good,” said Martin, who finished with seven points, three assists and a blocked shot in his career-high 15 minutes. “I got to look at the film, but he’s a big, strong guy, and his first step, with him being so strong, it’s tough. You can’t give him no space because with a guy like him and his speed and power, if you do, you’re just cooked. 

But with the exception of Brown tossing him aside for a commanding dunk midway through the fourth quarter, Martin kept the Celtics’ star simmering for the most part, never letting him get to full boil. That’s a good result for anyone, let alone a rookie in his first meaningful NBA minutes.  

Offensively, the touches opened up by Ingram and Barnes’ absence created some other opportunities. Immanuel Quickley became the focus of Boston’s defence
— “They were double-teaming a lot, especially on pick-and-rolls, showing heavy nail on the drive” — but he adjusted by posting a season-best 17 assists to go along with 17 points. 

Among the recipients was second-year wing Walter, who scored a season-high 19 points on a season-high five threes on nine attempts.

The Raptors shot 18-of-47 from deep for 38.3 per cent. It was their second-highest total for makes, tied for their highest number of attempts and reflected their best chance to keep up with Boston, which shot 14-of-28 from deep. A couple more makes and they might have pressured Boston even more. 

Walter said his big night was sparked in part by a conversation he had earlier in the day with Ingram. 

“At shootaround, BI told me I got to take more threes,” said Walter, who also had a steal and two blocked shots. “He said he was watching me shoot and things I’ve been passing up a lot of shots. So, I had that mindset coming in. Having a vet tell you that, you have to listen, if he sees something, and the shots were just falling today.”

The Raptors need Ingram — and Barnes and Barrett and Poeltl — to be able to make some on-court contributions sooner than later, but even in his absence, his presence was felt. Sort of like the Raptors who did play, could feel good about at least making their presence felt in a game no one expected to be close. 

Grange for three: 

End of an era: Did anyone, anywhere, predict nearly halfway through the season that Ingram would have played in every single game (38 straight) and been eighth in the NBA in total minutes? 

Uh, no. Ingram had only played that many games consecutive twice in his 10-year career: once as a rookie and again in 2021-22. His run came to an end against Boston when he was ruled out with a sprained right thumb that took him out of the game in the second quarter against Charlotte. He caught his hand on Hornet wing Kon Knueppel’s hip. He took part in shootaround on Friday morning in Boston, and is hopeful he’ll be able to play Sunday when the Raptors host the 76ers. But he does take some satisfaction that he’s been so available after playing just 18 games last season. “I’m very happy about it, especially being away from the game for so long (didn’t play after December of last year due to a high ankle sprain), being able to be on the floor every single night,” said Ingram, who is leading the Raptors with 21.8 points per game. “It’s been a long time since I played consecutive games over and over again. It’s feeling good just to be on the floor, just to be on the floor and having a basketball in my hand.” The Raptors will feel a lot better if he has a ball back in his hand by Sunday. 

Agbaji absent: Going into the game, Rajakovic said he was looking forward to seeing some of the team’s younger players get minutes that otherwise would be available with Barnes and Ingram out. Together, they average 67 minutes a game. But there was — somewhat surprisingly — even more minutes on the table because Rajakovic decided not to play Ochai Agbaji. The fourth-year wing has been a fairly steady part of the rotation all season — he started 10 consecutive games in December when Barrett was out. But Walter got the start for Ingram Friday (Sandro Mamukelashvili started in place of Barnes), and Agbaji didn’t see the floor. Any particular reason? “No, I just made the decision to go with other guys… coach’s decision,” Rajakovic said after the game. Given Agbaji is on an expiring contract and the Raptors’ log jam at the wing, it’s a situation to monitor.  

Boucher, well-rested: Once the Raptors were determined that the final third of last season was going to be about development (and positioning for lottery odds), Chris Boucher’s long run with the club was effectively over. Toronto had tried to trade him at the deadline and found no takers, and shortly after that, Boucher’s only position was on the bench. He didn’t see a minute from Feb. 26 on last year. The 33-year-old was able sign a one-year contract for the veteran minimum ($3.3 million) late in the off-season after Boston lost all three bigs from its roster last season. But after seeing some floor time early in the year, Boucher’s in a similar situation as he was last season in Toronto. He’s appeared in eight games total, hasn’t played a minute since Nov. 23, a stretch of 20 games and counting. 

More from Sportsnet

Raptors’ RJ Barrett exits vs. Celtics due to ankle injury

‘Collin Murray-Bruiser’ forcing his way into essential role with Raptors