Recap: Toronto vs. Boston

When Boston hosted Toronto at TD Garden last Wednesday, the Celtics ran over the Raptors, leading by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter as they cruised to a 100-64 win.

Boston's problem on Friday: Toronto wanted revenge.

DeMar DeRozan continued his hot steak, following up his 25 point performance on Wednesday night with 21 points, and the Raptors led wire-to- wire as they defeated the Celtics, 86-74, at Air Canada Centre.

"It was a message," said DeRozan. "The last time we played these guys we got embarrassed. We knew we had to come out and play with pride. It just shows we can beat any team in the league when we play like that."

Jose Calderon and Amir Johnson each contributed their sixth double-double of the season for Toronto. Calderon netted 17 points and dished out 14 assists in the victory, while Johnson put up 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Kevin Garnett paced the Celtics with 17 points to go with eight rebounds, while Paul Pierce added 12 points and five assists in defeat.

Toronto came out of the gate on fire. A balanced attack led by DeRozan (nine first-quarter points), Calderon (eight) and James Johnson (eight) was highlighted by a floating alley-oop from Calderon to DeRozan that capped off a 14-4 start in favor of the Raptors.

"Awful. Just awful," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers when asked about the first quarter. "I was really frustrated."

Rivers demonstrated that frustration during the first, storming onto the floor during play to ask referee Bill Kennedy for a timeout.

Toronto led 41-34 at the half and 63-51 after three. Boston committed 17 turnovers as the Celtics lost on back-to-back nights after winning five straight.

Game Notes