Hits and Flops: Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics
The Toronto Raptors visited the TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics in a battle between two of the Eastern Conference heavyweights.
The Celtics emerged victorious with a 117-108 scoreline after a 17-4 run with Kyrie Irving again closing out the deal for the Celtics.
The Celtics had lost three straight road games heading into this one and looked set for another loss after Leonard converted a three-point play to give Raptors a four-point lead. But the Celtics responded in the clutch moments and got a crucial win.
This was the third encounter of the year between the two teams with the Celtics winning on two occasions.
With the victory, the Celtics improve to a 26-18 record and are the fifth best team in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors drop to the second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 33-13 record.
Let's have a look at the hits and flops from this match:
Flop - Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry is an All-Star point guard running the show for the Raptors. But on this occasion, he failed to live up to the expectations. In a tantalizing point guard battle with Irving, Lowry did not deliver.
Lowry ended the match with just 10 points to go along with his 6 rebounds and 7 assists. His season average is around 15 points and 9.6 assists. He is one of the leaders in assists per game and has one of the best win shares this season.
But Lowry seemed off in this match. He only shot 3-10 from the field and 1-5 from the 3PT line. The Raptors struggled when Lowry missed matches while nursing an injury and he has been critical to their success this season. In a big match like this one, Lowry was outperformed by his matchup.