Toronto Raptors 99-110 Boston Celtics - 5 talking points

In this highly entertaining, up-and-down encounter between the two top sides in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics extended their win streak to 6 games without Kyrie Irving. They did have Al Horford and Marcus Morris back for this game, and they needed all the contribution that they got from both veterans on the night as the Toronto Raptors faltered in money time.

Both teams shot the ball decently for the most part, with Toronto converting 46.3% of their 80 shot attempts while Boston converted 40 of their 88 attempts for a 45.5% field goal percentage.

The Celtics will post their best regular season record under Brad Stevens. Currently, at 53-23, they are only 2 games behind the Raptors at the #2 seed, and could possibly move up to the #1 place by the end of the season.

Here are 5 talking points from the game.

#5 Disparity in 3-point shooting and turnovers between the two teams

The Celtics took excellent care of the ball throughout the game and moved the ball around well in search of the easiest shot for pretty much every play in the game. They only committed 5 turnovers, and eschewed pointless 3-pointers to post 7 makes out of 17 attempts from downtown for a solid 41.2% conversion rate from downtown.

The Raptors, on the other hand, had a cold shooting night. This regular season campaign, they have lived and died by the 3-pointer, and tonight they got killed by their cold shooting from downtown. Lowry made only 2 out of his 10 attempts, while CJ Miles converted none of his 5 attempts.

Even DeRozan, a much-improved 3-point shooter this season, did not have a single make from downtown as Toronto converted only 8 of their 35 looks for a measly 22.9% rate. The Raptors were also with the ball, committing 15 turnovers and allowing the Celtics to get 8 extra shots - which ultimately made the difference between a close loss and a clear beating.