Tatum and Brown carry Celtics to 115-101 win over Raptors

By KEN POWTAK

BOSTON (AP) Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday.

Neemias Queta had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight to move closer to clinching second place in the Eastern Conference.

Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 16 points, and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each had 15.

Celtics center Nikola Vucevic returned after missing a month following surgery for a broken right ring finger. He looked a bit rusty, scoring just four points in 13 minutes with four rebounds.

Coming off consecutive games of putting up at least 43 points in the opening quarter, the Celtics looked a bit sluggish and were cold from long range early, missing 13 of their initial 16 shots from 3-point range. The teams were tied at 26 after one.

Fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference to avoid the play-in tournament, the Raptors were outscored 35-24 in the final quarter that was filled with their turnovers and breakdowns defensively. Walter even missed all three free throw attempts on one trip to the line.

Boston led by just three points entering the final quarter before going on a game-breaking 16-6 spree that was started by a long 3-pointer from Pritchard 18 seconds into the period.

The Raptors trailed by 10 with just under four minutes left before Boston scored 10 of the next 12 points. Brown had three baskets, including a pair a few seconds apart when he missed his free throw trying for a three-point play but grabbed the rebound and converted a layup.

Toronto won its previous game against Memphis by 32 points.

Raptors: Host Miami on Tuesday.

Celtics: Host Charlotte on Tuesday.

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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA