BOSTON — Winning on the road in the NBA is rarely easy.
Winning on the road at the Air Canada Centre has been more difficult than winning any place in the NBA this season.
That’s what the Celtics will be looking to do Tuesday night when they take a four-game win streak and the best record in the Eastern Conference to play a Toronto Raptors team that is second in the East and an NBA-best 21-4 at home.
"They’re playing extremely well," said [...]
BOSTON — Winning on the road in the NBA is rarely easy.
Winning on the road at the Air Canada Centre has been more difficult than winning any place in the NBA this season.
That’s what the Celtics will be looking to do Tuesday night when they take a four-game win streak and the best record in the Eastern Conference to play a Toronto Raptors team that is second in the East and an NBA-best 21-4 at home.
“They’re playing extremely well,” said Celtics center Al Horford after his buzzer-beating basket Sunday afternoon against the Portland Trail Blazers at TD Garden. “Their bench is playing well. Their starters are, too. It’s a lot. We’ll have our hands full.
“For us, in that game, it’s going to be one of those games where we have to be very disciplined on the defensive end because [DeMar] DeRozan makes you pay. Kyle Lowry has that ability as well. We have to be locked in defensively. That will give us our best chance to go in there and try to win the game.”
The game is the first of four against potential Eastern Conference finals or semifinals opponents this week. Boston then travels to face the fourth-place Washington Wizards on Thursday before hosting the sixth-place Indiana Pacers on Friday night and the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers during Paul Pierce Day on Sunday.
“Two tough games,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said of the first half of the stretch. “We’re going to have to find ways to win on the road. It’s tough. But we’ve got to execute. We’ve got to do the little things just a little bit harder. And I think we’ll be all right.”
The Celtics are hopeful to have some reinforcements back. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said prior to Sunday’s game that Kyrie Irving (quad bruise) and Marcus Morris (backside bruise) would both travel with the team and were therefore likely to play in either one or both of the road games.
Marcus Smart said before the game that he will be out until the All-Star Game after receiving 20 stitches in his right hand to close a cut he received while punching a glass picture frame in a Los Angeles hotel room two weeks ago. Shane Larkin is also expected to be out another couple of weeks with right knee soreness.
“We’re confident regardless,” Brown said. “But when guys go out, we don’t make excuses. We know we have to come out and be better. So when those guys — Kyrie, Shane, Marcus Morris, Marcus Smart — are out, we know we have to step up. And it’s fun. It’s fun being in control.”
Despite being severely shorthanded during the recent three-game homestand the Celtics managed to win all three. The most impressive of the trifecta came Sunday when they rallied from down 16 at the half to beat a likely playoff-bound Trail Blazers team.
Abdel Nader and Guerschon Yabusele had key 3-pointers to keep the Celtics within striking distance in the second quarter, while Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis contributed big defensive plays and grabbed key rebounds in the fourth.
“They’re being part of meaningful games,” Horford said of the rookie brigade. “They’re getting experience. Those guys work really hard every day to be in this position. It’s good to see them get on the floor and have some success.
“They are not in there and dragging us. They came in there and lifted us up.”
The Celtics (39-15) will be looking to take a commanding lead in the season series against the Raptors (36-16) after winning the first matchup of the year in Boston on Nov. 12 in a game that Irving sat out with a facial fracture.
The teams play twice more within a five-day span in the final three weeks of the season.
“They have a lot of gritty players just like us,” Celtics guard Terry Rozer said. “They have a lot of guys that do whatever to win. That’s why it’s going to be a great matchup and we’re looking forward to it.”