Celtics look to avenge Sunday's loss to Raptors
Five days ago the Boston Celtics lost to the Toronto Raptors by just one point 102-101.
The Raptors then defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 106-90 on Wednesday night, after dominating the game throughout.
Revenge is on Celtics’ mind
The Boston Celtics host the Toronto Raptors on Friday night at TD Garden in Boston. As they look forward to welcoming their guests, there will be a silent prayer for a different outcome from the last game. The Celtics will be looking to avenge their defeat
against the Raptors last week, and in doing so end Toronto’s four-game winning streak.
Will Rondo attend or not?
One of the Celtic’s key players, Rajon Rondo missed his third straight game on Wednesday. Rondo has a strained hamstring and won’t be able to attend the game.
West’s broken wrist
The team is facing an even harder time, now that Delonte West is also out, because he suffered a broken wrist while playing against the New Jersey nets on Wednesday. West fell awkwardly on the ground and broke his wrist as he was attempting a lay-up against
the Nets. Despite losing a player, the Celtics were successful in defeating the Nets 89-83.
"It's going to be a long time. Let's put it that way," Boston coach Doc Rivers said about West’s injury.
Robinson and Daniels to fill in
Nate Robinson and Marquis Daniels will probably share duties as point guards in the absence of Rondo.
Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen played well as a team against the Nets. Shaquille O’Neal then lit up the court with a sparkling performance to lead Boston to victory.
O’Neal scored 25 points and 11 rebounds, as he went 9 for 10 from the field. He last scored 26 points in March last year against the Phoenix Suns, and it took him another 76 games to find his touch again. The player has an average of 13.3 points and 7.4
rebounds over the course of the last seven games.
O’Neal said, "I know people appreciate my hard work. This is a great team. Best team I've been on. We've got a lot, a lot of weapons. Anybody on this team can be the leading scorer."
Garnett scored a season-low eight points, and Allen could not get past 20 points for the sixth consecutive game. The last time he failed to reach that mark was for seven straight games in December.
"I told him he looked like the 2000 Shaq," Garnett remarked. "He definitely was the target tonight. We rode him."
O’Neal could not however repeat his performance against the Raptors, as the Celtics lost 102-101. He scored only eight points on the night. Amir Johnson hit two free-throws for the Raptors with just 2.7 seconds on the clock. Paul Pierce then had a last second
shot rimmed out. Andrea Bargnani meanwhile top-scored for the Raptors with 29 points.
That victory halted an eight-game losing streak against the Boston Celtics. Now the Raptors are hoping to beat the Celtics in two straight games, for the first time since 2006-07 season.
Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic made successful team debuts, as the Raptors (6-9) beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, to clinch their fourth straight win.
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