Celtics will meet Raptors in Round 2

The Celtics and Toronto Raptors are going to square off in the playoffs for the first time ever.

After both teams finished off 4-0 opening-round sweeps on Sunday at Disney World, they will be paired together in an Eastern Conference semifinal round series.

The defending champion Raptors, who entered the NBA in 1995, had been the only team in the conference that the Celtics had never met in the postseason.

The Celtics advanced with a 110-106 victory over the [...]

The Celtics and Toronto Raptors are going to square off in the playoffs for the first time ever.

After both teams finished off 4-0 opening-round sweeps on Sunday at Disney World, they will be paired together in an Eastern Conference semifinal round series.

The defending champion Raptors, who entered the NBA in 1995, had been the only team in the conference that the Celtics had never met in the postseason.

The Celtics advanced with a 110-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in the afternoon while the Raptors coasted past the Brooklyn Nets, 150-122, at night.

After winning the title a year ago, the Raptors were expected to take a step back when Kawhi Leonard signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

But Toronto (53-19) had the second-best winning percentage in the NBA, trailing only the Milwaukee Bucks by 2 1-2 games. The Celtics (48-24) had the fifth-best record.

This marks the seventh time that the Celtics will be taking on the defending champion in the playoffs, and they are 0-6 in the previous meetings.

The last time they faced the reigning champs was in 2017 when the Celtics lost in five games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Celtics went 3-1 against the Raptors this season, winning their home opener on Oct. 25, 112-106, and on Christmas Day in Canada, 118-102.

The Raptors defeated the Celtics in Boston on Dec. 28, 113-97, and when the teams met at Disney World on Aug. 7, the Celtics cruised to a 122-100 win, leading by as many as 40 points.

The Celtics will be without Gordon Hayward against the Raptors, leaving them shorthanded up front. The Raptors lost point guard Kyle Lowry to an ankle injury in the first quarter Sunday night, and he was taken for tests.

Without Lowry, the Raptors had little trouble ousting the Nets as reserves Norman Powell (29 points) and Serge Ibaka (27 points, 15 rebounds) took over. According to Elias Sports, the Raptors became the first team to have 100 points from their bench in a regular-season or playoff game since the statistic was first used in the 1970-71 season.

jfenton@enterprisenews.com

On Twitter at @JFenton_ent.