THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan poured in 21 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 86-74 victory over Boston on Friday, snapping a three-game losing streak and earning their first victory over the Celtics in six meetings.
Jose Calderon added 17 points and 14 assists for Toronto (9-19), while James Johnson had 14 points, and Amir Johnson had 12 points to go with 12 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett topped the Celtics (14-12) with 17 points, while Paul Pierce added 12 and Mickael Pietrus finished with 11.
The Raptors jumped on the Celtics early, never trailing and leading by as much as 16 points in the first quarter. A five-point difference early in the third was as close as Boston would get as the Raptors took a 63-51 lead into the fourth and never looked back.
Linas Kleiza poured in three three-pointers in the fourth, No. 3 putting the Raptors up 80-69 with just over three minutes to play, Calderon added a three-pointer and Johnson scored on a long jumper as the Toronto cruised to victory over a weary Boston team.
The Celtics were coming off an 88-87 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous night — a loss that snapped their season-high five-game win streak — and didn’t arrive in Toronto until 3:30 a.m.
The Raptors shot 44 per cent on the night to Boston’s 45, but outrebounded them 42-34 and protected the ball well, giving up just six points on turnovers. The Celtics coughed up 15 points on 17 turnovers.
The Raptors raced out to a 16-point lead with an entertaining first quarter, taking advantage of a Celtics squad that scored just four baskets. James Johnson had a couple of huge dunks and Calderon tossed up an alley-oop to DeRozan, and Toronto ended the quarter up 26-14.
The Celtics used an 11-1 run to pull within six points early in the second quarter, but despite Toronto’s woeful shooting — 4-for-15 for 27 per cent — Boston could come no closer. The Raptors took a 41-34 lead into the dressing room at halftime.
The Raptors poured it on in third, and when DeRozan found Amir Johnson for a spectacular alley-oop dunk with 4:08 left in the quarter, the basket put Toronto up 61-45. The Raptors led 63-51 with a quarter left to play.
.The game was the second of a seven-game homestand for Toronto, a stretch that ties a franchise record for most consecutive games in Toronto.
NOTES: Toronto’s leading scorer Andrea Bargnani missed another game with a strained left calf muscle. The Italian centre has missed 14 of Toronto’s last 16 games. … The Raptors host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday… Former Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen was seated courtside… The Celtics were missing former Raptors forward Jermaine O’Neal (left shoulder).
