The Toronto Raptors blew the largest home lead in franchise history on Wednesday night, November 11, losing 98-93 to the Boston Celtics at Scotiabank Arena after leading by 22 points. Toronto led 59-37 midway through the second quarter, and the collapse was identified as an unwanted franchise record by Sportsnet Stats in reporting on the game, a mark that turns a strong start into the story of the night.
The Raptors still led 93-90 with just over a minute left, but Boston scored the final eight points of the game and Toronto did not score again. The loss dropped Toronto to 5-6, below .500 for the first time this season, while Boston improved to 10-2, won a fifth straight game and finished a four game road trip without a loss.
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A Start That Matched A Franchise Best
For one quarter, Toronto played the game it wanted. The Raptors made 10 of 18 three point attempts in the first quarter, matching their franchise record for threes in a period, and built a 38-29 lead. Ja’Kobe Walter led that early push and finished as Toronto’s top scorer with 17 points, including five three pointers. The ball moved, the shots fell in rhythm, and Boston looked like a team playing the second night of a back to back after a late arrival.
The lead kept growing in the second quarter. A free throw by Jamal Shead pushed the advantage to 22 points at 59-37 with 5:24 left in the half, the largest lead Toronto has ever held at home in a game it went on to lose. Allen Graves gave the home side energy off the bench during that stretch, part of the reason the game felt under control well past the midway point of the second period. Toronto went to halftime ahead 61-54, still in front, but the direction of the game had already started to change underneath the scoreline.
Playing without Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors had built their margin on hot perimeter shooting. That is a difficult base to defend for 48 minutes, and once the early threes stopped falling, Toronto needed other ways to score and to get stops. Over the final three quarters the Raptors shot 6 for 25 from three point range, a drop that NBC Sports Boston detailed in its game recap while charting Boston’s climb back into the contest.
Boston Chipped Away, Then Took The Quarter That Mattered
Boston answered the 22 point deficit with a 16-0 run late in the second quarter, with Jayson Tatum scoring the first 10 points of that run himself. The Celtics won the third quarter 21-19 to keep pressure on, and then won the fourth quarter 23-13, holding Toronto to its lowest scoring period of the night when the game was there to be closed.
Tatum finished with 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, with 10 of his points coming at the free throw line. Derrick White added 19 points, seven assists and four blocks, a line that shows how much of Boston’s comeback ran through defence as much as shot making. Payton Pritchard scored 14 points off the bench, and Neemias Queta added 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, including key plays in the final minute.
Just the DNA and when we put that Celtics uniform on, it’s go out there and win. So every person that came in there, even if we might not have had it at the beginning of the game, just found a way to find something and give us everything they got.
White said that after the game, in comments carried by NBC Sports Boston, and the closing minute backed him up. Toronto led by three late, then Tatum found Queta for a dunk, and Tatum made the tying and go-ahead free throws with 25.2 seconds left after drawing a foul on a drive. Queta blocked a drive by RJ Barrett, Hauser stole an inbound pass, and Boston closed the game at the line through Queta and Sam Hauser.
What Toronto Is Left With
Barrett finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Toronto, numbers that show he affected the game in several ways even on a difficult shooting night for the backcourt late. Walter’s 17 points led the team, which underlines the problem in the finish: when Boston raised its defence in the fourth quarter, Toronto did not have a steady half court answer, and a 13 point final period left the early work unprotected.
The record itself matters because of how complete the control was. This was not a narrow lead lost on one bounce. Toronto led by 22 at home, matched a franchise record for threes in a quarter, still led inside the final two minutes, and still allowed the last eight points. A team that wants to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff picture has to close at least one of the possessions in that final minute, whether with a score, a stop without a foul, or a clean inbound play.
The Road Ahead For Both Teams
Boston leaves with three days off before hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, carrying a 10-2 record and the confidence of a group that won on a night when little went right early. Toronto falls to 5-6 and carries a harder lesson. The first half showed the ceiling of this shorthanded group when the threes fall and the pace is right. The second half showed the floor when the shooting cools and the execution has to carry the night. Until Toronto can win the second kind of game at home, nights like Wednesday will keep turning strong starts into franchise records for the wrong reason.
