Isaiah Thomas Scores 23 To Lead Celtics To 91-79 Win Over Raptors

Despite a recent late-season losing streak, the Boston Celtics entered their final regular-season game against the Toronto Raptors with a big win.

Isaiah Thomas Scores 23 To Lead Celtics To 91-79 Win Over Raptors

Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points (including two three-pointers in the fourth quarter) to lead the Celtics (42-30) to a 91-79 victory over the Raptors at the TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday night.

Evan Turner scored 17 points, 13 of them in the third quarter, and Avery Bradley added 16 points and eight rebounds, including two layups in the last 4:14 and a game-ending dunk, in the Celtics’ third straight win and first this season over one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s big,” Thomas said. “We wanted some confidence and momentum going into this tough West Coast trip and we got it. We wanted these three games and we got them.” The Celtics will next be going on a five-city trip to the West that will begin on Saturday against the Phoenix Suns.

The game also secured Celtics coach Brad Stevens’ first winning season. Last year, the team qualified for the playoffs with a 40-42 record.

“The one thing that I will say is, especially in the last year, 14 months, whatever it is, that I feel like there’s real progress,” Stevens said. “And it’s been pretty consistent progress. We’re certainly going to have our bad games and we’re certainly going to have games that are unique throughout an 82-game season, but there’s been good progress, there’s been good growth. And that’s my biggest focus.

“(But) you don’t sign up to come to the Boston Celtics to win 42 games. So we’ve got a long way to go.”

The victory ensured the Celtics will finish with at least a .500 record — its first since Stevens took over three years ago. The Celtics are now tied with the Atlanta Hawks for third place in the Eastern Conference.

The first half was tight throughout, with 10 lead changes and neither team holding more than a three-point lead.

Toronto trailed 69-58 late in the third quarter before using a 10-0 run to get back into the game. The Celtics missed eight straight shots during the run.

The Celtics had an eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but that lead was quickly reduced to a point. However, Boston then responded with a 10-4 run to close the game out.

DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 21 points, while point guard Kyle Lowry sat out due to a sore right elbow. The game marked Toronto’s first loss after a four-game winning streak, and is now 2.5 games behind Cleveland for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Caption: BOSTON, MA – MARCH 23: Terrence Ross #31 of the Toronto Raptors defends Evan Turner #11 of the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter at TD Garden on March 23, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics defeat the Raptors 91-79. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)