The Celtics began the second round of the playoffs by dominating the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
Using a balanced scoring attack and a superb defensive performance, the Celtics improved to 5-0 in the postseason with a 112-94 victory over the Raptors at Disney World Sunday afternoon.
Game 2 will be on Tuesday at either 3 or 5:30 p.m., with Game 3 on Thursday.
The Celtics and Raptors were scheduled to begin the series last Thursday, but the playoffs were [...]
The Celtics began the second round of the playoffs by dominating the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
Using a balanced scoring attack and a superb defensive performance, the Celtics improved to 5-0 in the postseason with a 112-94 victory over the Raptors at Disney World Sunday afternoon.
Game 2 will be on Tuesday at either 3 or 5:30 p.m., with Game 3 on Thursday.
The Celtics and Raptors were scheduled to begin the series last Thursday, but the playoffs were put on hold when players boycotted in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake by the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Raptors are now 11-2 in regular-season and postseason games at Disney World, with both losses coming against the Celtics. Toronto trailed the Celtics by 40 on the way to a 122-100 loss on Aug. 7.
In Game 1 of the first-ever playoff series between the two teams, the Celtics were never behind, jumping to an 11-3 lead. Their advantage was in double figures for the final 32:04 of the game and reached 24 points in the fourth quarter.
All five Celtics starters and backup center Robert Williams scored in double figures.
Marcus Smart, who had been struggling with his shot, had 21 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Smart, who added six rebounds and four assists, had hit only eight 3-pointers in his previous 10 games at Disney World.
Jayson Tatum, limited to two first-quarter points, had 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting with nine rebounds.
Kemba Walker had the first double-double of his career in the playoffs with 18 points and 10 assists. Jaylen Brown contributed 17 points while dealing with foul trouble.
The Celtics’ centers were big factors, with Daniel Theis grabbing 15 rebounds to go with 13 points and two blocks and Williams hitting all five of his shots for 10 points with five rebounds and two blocks.
The Raptors (37%, 10 for 40 on 3-pointers) were in early foul trouble and never got into an offensive groove. Kyle Lowry had 17 points, but leading scorer Pascal Siakam (5 for 16, 13 points) and Fred VanVleet (3 for 16, 11 points) were unable to contribute.
After leading by as many as 19 points in the first quarter and holding a 17-point halftime edge, the Celtics built a 22-point lead during the third quarter.
But the Raptors got within 88-73 going into the final quarter, putting together a 10-4 run to close the third quarter. A Tatum basket at the buzzer gave the Celtics the 15-point bulge.
The Celtics were in front by 22 five times in the third quarter and held an 84-63 lead with 2:14 to go. The Raptors responded to get within 86-73, but Tatum scored on an inbounds play just before the buzzer.
In the fourth quarter, the Raptors climbed to within 12 at 88-76 in the opening minute, but a 3-pointer by Brad Wanamaker and a pair of foul shots by Theis opened a 17-point lead that climbed to 24.
The Celtics were in front, 59-42, at halftime, thanks to balanced scoring with Walker (12), Brown (11), Tatum and Smart (10 each) all in double figures.
The Raptors scored the first seven points of the second quarter to get to 39-30 before a Tatum 3-pointer with 8:02 to go in the half.
The Celtics missed eight of their first nine shots in the quarter in the first six minutes as the Raptors were within 10 points, but baskets by Theis and Brown pushed the lead to 14 at 46-32.
A 3-pointer by Semi Ojeleye made it 51-35 with 3:52 left before the break and a three-point play by Tatum opened a 54-37 advantage with 2:21 to go.
After the Raptors moved within 12 in the final minute, Tatum scored on a dunk with 30 seconds left and Walker hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer on a feed from Smart.
The Raptors, who were in foul trouble during the first half, shot just 30% and missed 19 of 24 attempts from 3-point range. Siakam was 1 for 8 and VanVleet and Norman Powell were both 1 for 7.
The Celtics dominated the first quarter, leading by as many as 19 points before holding a 39-23 edge after the opening 12 minutes.
They jumped to an 11-3 lead in less than four minutes as the Raptors missed six of their first seven shots and turned the ball over twice.
Siakam picked up his third foul with 4:15 to go in the quarter and Marc Gasol had two fouls.
Smart, who had missed 28 of his previous 36 shots from 3-point range in the previous 10 games, connected on two 3-pointers in the quarter.
The Celtics were up, 15-11, with 5:40 left after Serge Ibaka came off the bench and hit two 3-pointers. But the Celtics went on a 16-2 run over 3:13 to grab a 31-13 lead.
The biggest advantage of the half was at 36-17 when Tatum scored his first basket with 39.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Tatum was just 1 for 4 for two points in the quarter, but the Celtics had plenty of options, with Smart getting 10 points, Brown nine and Walker seven.
jfenton@enterprisenews.com.
On Twitter at @JFenton_ent.