In three contests with the
Toronto Raptors this year, the
Boston Celtics have proven who the class of the Atlantic Division is.
And they made no mistake about showing it Sunday, opening up a big lead early and more or less coasting to a 90-77 win over the Raps in Toronto.
The win extended the Celtics' streak to nine games and ended the Raptors' win streak at four.
Kevin Garnett anchored the middle with 16 points and eight rebounds for the league-leading Celtics (20-2) while his young counterpart
Chris Bosh had 17 points and 13 rebounds to top
Toronto
.
The Raptors played their third straight game without guard
T.J. Ford, injured in a frightening fall Tuesday at
Atlanta
. The Celtics were missing Ray Allen, but
Toronto
missed their guy a lot more on this afternoon.
The Dinos shot a woeful 29 per cent in the first half and 39 per cent on the afternoon and trailed by as many as 21 points in the second quarter. When
Juan Dixon launched an airball midway through the second quarter, boos rained down from the Air Canada Centre crowd.
Jason Kapono had a chance to trim the lead to seven with an open three after Toronto started the fourth on a 7-0 run, but 10 is as close as Sam Mitchell's club would get.
From there the Celtics cruised to victory, marking their first nine-game win streak since
March 16-31, 1993
.
For the Raptors, the home loss comes at an inopportune time, with the team playing their next seven games on the road, including a brutal stretch of four contests in five nights. Things kick off with a visit to the
Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night.