United States of America
National Basketball Association
Saturday 28th December 2019
Tip Off 19.00
Boston Celtics 97 Toronto Raptors 113, attendance 19,156
Celtics Starters :
Daniel Theis : 4 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk
JaysonTatum : 12 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl
Gordon Hayward : 13 pts. 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk
Kemba Walker : 30 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
Jaylen Brown : 17 pts, 5 reb, 1ast, 3 stl
Used Substitutes : Grant Williams, Enes Kanter, Carsen Edwards, Marcus Smart, Brad Wanamaker, Romeo Langford, Javonte Green
Coach : Brad Stevens
Raptors Starters :
Serge Ibaka : 20 pts, 10 reb,
OG Anunoby : 7 pts, 4 reb
Kyle Lowry : 30 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl
Fred Van Vleet : 18 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk
Patrick McCaw : 18 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
Used Substitutes : Chris Boucher, Oshae Brissett, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson, Terence Davis, Malcolm Miller
Coach : Nick Nurse
@ TD Garden
100 Legends Way
Boston
MA 02114
$106 Admission + $22.58 fees. Resale, Mobile Ticket.
Team Sheet, free. Double sided poster size.
Tickets for this game had been bought in advance on-line. Despite being loaded onto your mobile phone, therefore requiring no printing, they are still subject to extortionate add on fees! The price for tickets was reasonable, considering this was 2nd versus 4th in the Eastern Conference, especially with Toronto Raptors being the reigning NBA Champions, although they are now without Kawhi Leonard, who was the difference between them and former champions Golden State Warriors during last years finals and it will be a massive surprise to everyone if they repeat the feat. In fact, just winning the Eastern Conference title will take some doing, let alone taking on the best from the West, which will more than likely be either L.A. Lakers, Denver Nuggets or L.A. Clippers, which is where Kawhi Leonard is now plying his trade.
TD Garden was opened in 1995 (as Fleet Center)and is now named after its sponsor, TD Bank, and has a capacity of 18,624, which is 532 less than the official attendance for tonight’s game! Considering it is a relatively new venue, it is a dreadful place to endure two to three hours of pain, as the seats are the most cramped I have ever come across and I still have the bruises on each hip to prove it. Quite a few people couldn’t even fit into their seats at all, choosing instead to sit in the gangway, which went unchallenged by the arena security team, so it must be a regular thing.
The two teams met on Christmas Day, in Toronto, with Celtics taking the game 118-102. The Raptors haven’t played since, but Celtics were playing their second game in succession, having beaten Cleveland Cavaliers here in Boston last night. The rest looked to have suited The Raptors, as apart from a couple of times midway through the first period, when the score was briefly tied, Raptors led for the remainder of the game and never looked like being pegged back, giving only a second home defeat of the season to The Celtics.
Despite missing two of their top four scorers due to injury, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell, they were also missing Centre Marc Gasol, all three having picked up injuries in a win at Detroit a week ago. Kyle Lowry top scored for the visitors with 30 points, with Serge Ibaka getting 20. Patrick McCaw and Fred Van Vleet each scored 18. Kemba Walker led the way for Celtics with 30, backed up by 17 points from Jaylen Brown.
