Raptors Get 1st Taste of Thrilling In-Season Tournament Action But Celtics Prove Too Much

Maybe this new in-season tournament actually is kind of fun.

For all the talk about new jerseys, new courts, and cash prizes on the line, Friday night’s tournament debut for the Toronto Raptors had some juice to it. Considering last Saturday’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics was about as bad as November basketball gets, then maybe a thrilling 108-104 loss to the Celtics showed the other side of what’s possible this time of year.

If a playoff feel is what the NBA is looking for, the league got that. It was mano a mano at times as Pascal Siakam backed down Jayson Tatum before putting Toronto ahead late in the fourth with a mid-range jumper. But after Kristaps Porzingis tied things up with a post-up over Dennis Schröder moments later Toronto couldn’t quite put the Celtics away.

A missed layup from Schröder turned into a wide-open Derrick White three-pointer at the other end. Toronto did get a chance to tie it up when Scottie Barnes let fly an off-balanced but wide-open three-pointer in the corner after he shook loose of Jaylen Brown, but the comeback wasn’t to be.

"It really felt that every point and every position is important," Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said of his first taste of the in-season tournament. "So I really enjoyed it."

It didn't help that Barnes was subbed out with 4:32 to go in the fourth and didn't check back in until the 27-second mark. Toronto had planned on getting him in quicker, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said, but there was no whistle and he didn't want to use one of his final two timeouts.

"Unfortunately, that’s on me. I’m gonna own that," Rajaković added. "I was not able to get him back on the court."

Of course, it wasn’t a thriller the whole way through. Toronto did what it’s done far too many times this year and decided to let the Celtics try to run away with the game early.

Defensive miscues plagued Toronto in the first half. At one point, Schröder and Chris Boucher ran into each other trying to get set up in transition, only to allow Jaylen Brown to nail a corner three-pointer. Moments later Gary Trent Jr. completely lost Jrue Holiday in the half-court, allowing the Celtics to rack up another easy bucket.

"The first half hurt us. If we can find a way to play for 48 minutes and make sure we come out the right way in the first half or first quarter that's going to help us a lot," Schröder said. "So we got to find a way to be ready."

It didn’t help that Siakam, who led Toronto with 23 points in 29 minutes, took his third foul just eight minutes into the game and was forced to sit for the entire second quarter. Toronto was leading by four when he checked out in the first half after the Raptors unsuccessfully challenged the call. Over the ensuing 16 minutes, Boston outscored Toronto by 20, climbing ahead by as many as 16 when Tatum nailed a wide-open buzzer-beating three-pointer heading into the half.

"That was a tough, tough one," Rajaković said of Siakam's foul trouble. "With three fouls, it would be really, really hard. I was not willing to risk there and get him in a fourth foul, God forbid, and now he cannot play the full third quarter."

But Toronto did bounce back because of course they did. It started with four straight three-pointers to open the second half and Siakam’s return allowed the Raptors to pull even on a bucket from Schroder, part of a 23-point effort from Toronto’s starting point guard.

Barnes even put Toronto ahead with a three-pointer that preceded some enthusiastic yelling as he ran back on defense. Unfortunately for Toronto, that was followed up with a pair of three-pointers from Al Horford as the Celtics recaptured the lead.

Had it been a blowout loss for Toronto, the Raptors’ in-season tournament hopes would have been dashed before they ever got started. But now Toronto is very much still in the mix with two more group-stage games to go in the tournament.

Up Next: Detroit Pistons

The Raptors will wrap up their homestand on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET when the Detroit Pistons come to town.