Despite losing three key players to injuries and having just four home games, the Celtics went 9-4 and moved within two games of the top spot in the East.
BOSTON – The month of March figured to be a challenging time for the Celtics.
Because of a variety of other events taking place at the TD Garden, the Celtics had just four home games with nine on the road, including a four-game western swing.
Making things even more difficult was the fact that injuries piled up before the month was halfway over, leaving the Celtics severely shorthanded.
On the night of March 11, Kyrie Irving did not return to a game against the Indiana Pacers after halftime because of a sore left knee.
During the second half of that same game, Daniel Theis injured his knee and Marcus Smart sustained a thumb injury.
Just like that, a challenging month was going to have to be tackled without the team’s best player and two key reserves.
Irving underwent a procedure on his knee on March 24 and is expected to be sidelined for between three and six weeks.
Theis is done for the season following surgery to repair meniscus on his left knee and Smart had ligament surgery on his right thumb on March 16 and could be back for the second round of the playoffs.
Despite all of that and the lack of home games, the Celtics finished March with a 9-4 record after another impressive victory Saturday night.
Their 110-99 win over the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden moved the Celtics within two games of the Eastern Conference leaders with just six games to go.
If things break right Tuesday night when the Celtics play in Milwaukee and the Raptors face the Cleveland Cavaliers, then the Celtics would be one game out heading into a rematch in Canada on Wednesday night.
After both the Celtics and the Raptors lost games on March 18, Toronto held a five-game lead over Boston. But since then, the Celtics have won six in a row while the Raptors have gone just 3-3 to make it interesting.
Since that night when Irving, Theis and Smart played their final games of the regular season, the Celtics are 7-2, losing in double overtime to the Washington Wizards and on the road to the New Orleans Pelicans.
No one could have envisioned the Celtics putting that kind of record together without Irving and two leaders from the second unit, but they have, getting contributions from Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum.
Rozier, playing the best basketball of his career, has averaged 18.2 points and made 30 shots from 3-point range in the nine games without Irving. Rozier has scored in double figures a career-best 25 games.
“I’m coming for LeBron (James’) record he just got (from Michael Jordan),’’ joked Rozier. “It’s like everything I ever dreamed of. Just being young and everyone wanting to be in the position to play a lot of minutes and to be looked at as one of the leaders of the team to lead them to a victory, I’m just living the dream.’’
Morris, who dealt with a knee issue earlier in the season, is averaging 21.9 points in the seven games he’s played since Irving exited. Morris scored at least 30 points twice during that stretch and has brought toughness and more scoring to the Celtics.
“Just staying aggressive,’’ said Morris. “Coach is doing a great job coming to me. The team is doing a great job finding me and staying aggressive. I need to score the ball. I have to play better since the injuries.’’
Tatum, who hit a rookie wall earlier in the season, is back on track and played point guard Saturday night for the first time since he was in high school in Missouri.
“As he gets more experience, he’s getting better,’’ said coach Brad Stevens. “He’s done a great job working in the weight room and doing different things to continue to go through the long season. He’s really, really starting to peak, I think.’’