at 
Boston Celtics (16-11)  at  Toronto Raptors (17-11)
Saturday, December 20, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #28, Road Game #14
TV: NBCSB, TSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, Sportsnet Radio 590, Sirius XM
Scotiabank Arena


Possible Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Immanuel Quickley

Shooting Guard
vs
Payton Pritchard vs Ochai Agbaji

Small Forward
vs  
Jaylen Brown vs Brandon Ingram

Power Forward
  vs 
Jordan Walsh vs Scottie Barnes

Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Sandro Mamukelshvili

Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Sam Hauser
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
Josh Minott

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams

Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Raptors Reserves
Jamison Battle
Gradey Dick
Jonathan Mogbo
Collin Murray-Boyles
Jamal Shead
Garrett Temple
Ja'Kobe Walter

Two-Way Players
Chucky Hepburn
AJ Lawson
Alijah Martin

Injuries/Out
RJ Barrett (knee)  questionable
Jakob Poeltl (back) questionable

Head Coach
Darko Rajakovic

Game Notes
The Celtics travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors for the second of 4 games this season.  The Celtics won the first game 121-113 in Toronto on December 7.   They will meet twice in Boston on January 9 and April 5.  They faced off twice in the preseason with the Celtics winning 110-108 in Boston and the Raptors winning 107-105 in Toronto. 

The Celtics won the series 3-1 last season with the one loss coming in Toronto .    The Celtics are 74-43 overall all time against the Raptors and they are 30-29 in games taking place in Toronto.  The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games, having played the Heat in Boston on Friday.  The Celtics are 3-1 in the second game of back to back games. The Raptors are playing on the first night of back to back games and will play in Brooklyn on Sunday.  They are 2-3 so far in the first of back to back games.

The Raptors didn't make a lot of changes in the off season.  They re-signed Jakob Poeltl and Garrett Temple.  They drafted Collin Murray-Boyles with the 9th pick in the draft and they drafted Alijah Martin with the 39th pick in the draft and signed him to a 2-way contract.  Chris Boucher left the Raptors for the Celtics in free agency. Toronto signed Sando Mamukelashvili as a free agent.   

The Celtics are 4th in the East, 3.5 games behind 2nd place New York and 5 games behind first place Detroit. They are half a game behind 3rd place Toronto. They are 1 game ahead of 5th place Philadelphia and 6th place Orlando.  The Celtics are 7-6 on the road. They are 12-8 against Eastern Conference opponents and 4-4 against the Atlantic Division.  They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win in their last game. 

The Raptors are 3rd in the East, 3 games behind 2nd place New York and 4.5 games behind first place Detroit.  They are half a game ahead of 4th place Boston and 1.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia and 6th place Orlando.  The Raptors are 8-6 at home.  They are 15-7 against Eastern Conference opponents and 3-4 against the Atlantic Division.  They are 4-6 in their last 10 games.  They have won their last 2 games.

After this game at Toronto, the Celtics will host Indiana and then head out on a 5 game road trip through Indiana, Portland, Utah, Sacramento and the LA Clippers. Next they have a 4 game home stand where they host Chicago, Denver, Toronto, and San Antonio before a 4 game road trip through Indiana, Miami, Atlanta and the final game at Detroit.

After this game at home, the Raptors will play at Brooklyn in back to back games and then at Miami and at Washington before returning home for a 5 game home stand where they will host Golden State, Orlando, Denver, and two games against Atlanta.  They will then play at Charlotte and at Boston before hosting Philadelphia for a pair of games. 

Jayson Tatum remains out for the Celtics as he rehabs a torn Achilles that he suffered  in last year's playoffs.  For Toronto, RJ Barrett is listed as questionable due to a sprained knee he suffered on November 23.  Jakob Poeltl is listed as questionable for injury management for a back injury. Since they are playing back to back games one or both may sit out one of the two games.  I have included the starting lineup from their game notes.  If either Barrett or Poeltl can play,  they may move back into the starting lineup. 

Key Matchups
vs  
Jaylen Brown vs Brandon Ingram
Ingram is averaging 22.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.  He is shooting 47.3% from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc.  In the first game against the Celtics, Ingram finished with 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 55% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics need to do a better job of defending him in this one. 

  vs 
Jordan Walsh vs Scottie Barnes
Barnes is averaging 19.8 points, 8.0rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game.  He is shooting 50.8% from the field and 38.6% from beyond the arc.  In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field with no threes. 

Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Immanuel Quickley
Quickley is averaging 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.  He is shooting 46.5% from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc.  In the first game against the Celtics, Quickley finished with 11 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 1 steal while shooting 44.4% from the field with no 3 pointers. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is the most important key to winning. The Celtics are 18th in the league with a defensive rating of 115.1. The Raptors are 7th with a defensive rating of 112.4. The Celtics have played good defense off and on but they still are not consistent on that end. They must stay committed to playing tough, lock down defense, especially against a Raptors team that plays good defense themselves.  The Celtics must especially defend in the paint as the Raptors are 4th in the league with 52.7 points in the paint per game.

Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning every game.  The Celtics are 20th with 43.4 rebounds per game.  The Raptors are 23rd with 42.5 rebounds per game.   The Celtics will need to rebound as a team with players crashing the boards from every position.  The Celtics can't score without the ball and rebounding is a great way to get the ball and to get extra possessions and to also deny the Raptors extra possessions.

Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics are at their best when the ball moves and they make the extra pass. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. They are 11-0 this season when they have the same or more assists than their opponent and they are just 4-11 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. But they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy because the Raptors average 19.1 points off turnovers and 19.9 fast break points per game.

Play with Energy and Focus for 48 Minutes - The Celtics must play with effort and energy and they have to play harder than the Raptors for all 4 quarters.  The team that plays the hardest and with more energy will usually get the win.  They also must stay focused on taking good shots and making them.  If the 3's are falling, they are tough to beat. But, if the 3's aren't falling, it can get ugly and so the Celtics need to focus on taking the best shots, whether that means shooting more 3's or taking the ball into the paint if they aren't falling.   

X-Factors
On the Road and Fatigue - The Celtics are on the road and have to deal with the distractions of travel and going through customs along with playing on an unfamiliar court (except for Chris Boucher) and in front of hostile fans.  They are also playing in the second of back to back games after winning at home against the Heat on Fridayl  Fatigue may come into play down the stretch. 

Officiating - The officiating can always be an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently.  Some call it tight with a lot of fouls while others let them play and let a lot of contact go.  The Celtics have to adapt to how the game is being called and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away their focus on playing the game.