NBA: Celtics, Magic, Lakers, 76ers and Suns win

Ray Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight 3-pointers, and the Boston Celtics withstood a late Toronto rally to beat the Raptors 94-88 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a four-game losing streak. Allen, who made a career-high 10 3-pointers against Charlotte on April 14, 2002, finished 8-for-10 from 3-point range on Sunday, making his first six attempts. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 11 points for Boston, which had lost seven of nine coming in. Andrea Bargnani...read full article

Quote of the Day -Ray Allen

"We don't want the pig to get as fat as it possibly can. One day you have to slaughter the pig." -Ray Allen

Celtics vs Raptors Highlights

Allen's 36 points help Celtics end slide

The Boston Celtics found a cure for their recent woes in holding off the Toronto Raptors 94-88 on Sunday behind the hot shooting of Ray Allen. The Celtics guard hit his initial six three-pointers, spurring the Atlantic Division leaders to their first win in five games. He finished with a season-high 36 points, making eight of 10 shots behind the arc. "We just rode his hot hand tonight," the Celtics' Paul Pierce told reporters after Boston won for just the third time in 10 games. Allen said his team mates were responsible for the big game. "We were moving the ball," Allen told...read full article

Celtics top Raptors, end four-game skid

BOSTON 94, TORONTO 88: Ray Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight three-pointers, and the visiting Celtics withstood a late Toronto rally to beat the Raptors on Sunday afternoon, ending a four-game losing streak. Allen, who made a career-high 10 three-pointers against Charlotte on April 14, 2002, finished 8-for-10 from three-point range on Sunday, making his first six attempts. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 11 points for Boston, which had lost seven of nine...read full article

Led by Allen’s 36, Celtics Return to Winning Ways

Ray Allen was on a roll Sunday, so the Boston Celtics kept going to him. Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight 3-pointers, as Boston won at Toronto, 94-88, ending a four-game losing streak. “When Ray gets it going, that’s our focus,” Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. “Feed the pig, that’s what we always say. He was the hot guy, so we want to keep feeding him.” Allen was 8 for 10 on 3-point attempts, making his first six. “When you see a player having a good night like that, it’s our duty as other players to try and get him the ball,” Paul Pierce said. “We just...read full article

Allen feasts on Raptors as Celtics halt losing skid

 Ray Allen scored 36 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 94-88 Sunday, snapping a four-game losing skid. Allen helped Boston jump out to a quick start, sinking all five of his three-point attempts in the first quarter as the Celtics raced out to a 32-20 advantage. "When Ray gets it going, that's our focus," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Feed the pig, that's what we always say. He was the hot guy, so we want to keep feeding him." Allen finished 11-of-14 from the field and eight-of-10 from the three-point line. He also converted all six of his free-throw...read full article

Celts top Raptors, end 4-game skid

Ray Allen was on a roll, so the Boston Celtics kept going to him. Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight 3-pointers, and the Celtics withstood a late Toronto rally to beat the Raptors 94-88 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a four-game losing streak. "When Ray gets it going, that's our focus," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Feed the pig, that's what we always say. He was the hot guy, so we want to keep feeding him." Allen, who made a career-high 10 3-pointers against Charlotte on April 14, 2002, went 8-for-10 from 3-point range...read full article

Danny Ainge willing to go all-in with this hand

Danny Ainge was out west last week scouting talent, including his own two youngsters in the NBDL, Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens, both of whom he recalled Thursday. That spared the Celtics [team stats] personnel czar much of the furor that was unhatched by his team’s 2-6 slump heading into Friday night’s game in Cleveland. “I’m not worried,” he said. Though there may indeed be a trade on the horizon for the Celtics prior to the Feb. 19 trade deadline, Ainge reiterated that there is “nothing even close” right now. More to the point, he’s...read full article

Celtics Want to Acquire a Shooter

An article on Yahoo! Sports stated the Celtics were looking to acquire a shooter for the bench:

What GM Danny Ainge wants is a shooter off the bench, but he's struggling to find one. League sources say he made a bid for the Orlando Magic's J.J. Redick recently, a guard he's long coveted, but an offer of J.R. Giddens and Gabe Pruitt couldn't come close to prying Redick. What's more, Orlando isn't motivated to fortify the Celtics. Suddenly, the Magic believe they can beat Boston. League executives say Ainge has become more persistent this week in searching...read full article

Celtics will face new look Raptors

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers is referring to his club's recent malaise as a bit of a withdrawal on the savings it accumulated when it was winning 19 games in a row earlier this season. The Raptors wouldn't mind at all if the Celts' bank balance kept taking a hit for at least the next two nights. Boston has lost seven of their past nine and head into Toronto today looking to get things righted. The two teams finish up the home and home series in Boston tomorrow.
But this Raptors club will have a distinctively different approach than the one...read full article

Sleepy Raptors hope they wake up before Celtics do

It will be shortly after 12:30 p.m. today when the Raptors begin one of the most significant games of their season, a test of how far they've come against an accomplished opponent, an emotional afternoon sure to play out before a soldout Air Canada Centre. They'll be sleepy. And so, probably, will many of the fans. It's just the way it is in the topsy-turvy start-time world of television-driven NBA scheduling. But who wakes up first – the Raptors, their fans, the Boston Celtics – may be the determining point on who wins. "Once you get into the flow of the game, you pretty...read full article

Boston Celtics (29-9) at Toronto Raptors (16-21), 12:30 p.m.

The struggling Boston Celtics will try to put the brakes on a season-high four-game losing streak Sunday when they close out a short road trip up north against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Boston has dropped four in a row and seven of nine since ripping off a team record 19 consecutive wins. In Friday's 98-83 loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, Kevin Garnett tallied 18 points and 15 rebounds for the defending NBA champions. The four-game skid is the longest for Boston since dropping seven straight from...read full article