Ray Allen poured in a season-high 36 points to lead Boston to a 94-88 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, snapping their four-game losing skid.
Andrea Bargnani had 17 points to top the Raptors (16-22), who saw their season-high three-game winning streak at the Air Canada Centre come to a screeching halt.
Chris Bosh added 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while Jamario Moon had 15 points, and Jason Kapono and Joey Graham finished with 12 apiece.
Rajon Rondo added 14 points and 11 assists for Boston (30-9), while Kevin Garnett had 10 points and 11 boards.
Allen finished 8-for-10 from three-point range.
The Raptors had won four of their previous five heading into Sunday, including a seemingly easy 103-82 victory over Memphis on Friday. The Celtics, on the other hand, arrived amid their worst losing streak of the season, dropping seven of their previous nine.
But except for a fourth-quarter comeback that came too late, it was Toronto that had all the trouble Sunday, trailing by double digits for most of the game and as much as 20 in the third quarter on some horrible shooting and sloppy play.
The Celtics took a 75-55 lead into the final 12 minutes, when the Raptors launched their comeback. Bosh drove hard by Garnett to finish with a two-handed dunk that brought the capacity crowd of 19,800 to its feet and cut Boston’s lead to 85-76 with 4:04 left.
Bargnani drained a three-pointer to pull Toronto to within five with just over a minute to play. Bargnani then connected on two free throws and it was a three-point game with 35 seconds to go. But Allen connected on four free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the victory for Boston.
Point guard Jose Calderon returned after missing four straight games with a strained right hamstring to finish with six points and just three assists, as Raptors coach Jay Triano went with backup Roko Ukic in the fourth quarter. Before Calderon took a seat though, he hit his 79th consecutive free throw to pass Houston’s Calvin Murphy for the third-longest streak in NBA history.
Coming off a season-high 55.6 per cent shooting in Friday’s win, the Raptors shot 38 per cent, but a horrible 31 per cent through the first three quarters. Boston shot 41 per cent.
The Raptors edged Boston on the boards 44-43.
Allen took little time to get going Sunday, draining four three-pointers as part of a 14-0 Celtics first-quarter run that gave the visitors an eight-point lead. Allen would shoot a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first and Boston took a 32-20 lead into the second.
Boston stretched its lead to 17 early in the second, but a hook shot by Graham capped a 12-1 Raptors run that brought them within six. The Celtics pulled away again heading into the dressing room with a 54-41 halftime lead.
The Raptors a horrible 22 per cent in the third quarter and Boston took a 20-point lead by Garnett midway throught the quarter. The Celtics headed into the fourth up 75-55.
NOTES: O’Neal has missed seven straight games since injuring his right knee Dec. 29 at Golden State . . . The Celtics have won seven of their past eight games against the Raptors, including four straight in Toronto . . . The Celtics’ previous trip to Toronto, a 118-103 victory on Nov. 23, came during Boston’s 19-game winning streak . . . Minnesota’s Micheal Williams hit 97 straight free throws in 1993 and holds the record . . . Boston’s Brian Scalabrine fouled out with 7:57 left in the game . . . The Raptors are back home Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls.
