Jaylen Brown Drops 30 Points as Celtics Top Raptors in Christmas Day Clash

It was a particularly merry Christmas for the Boston Celtics. For the Toronto Raptors, only coal.

Boston traveled to Toronto on Wednesday and came away with a 118-102 win. It looked as though Toronto might blow Boston away in the early going, as the Raptors opened the game on a 10-0 run. But the Celtics stabilized, finishing the first quarter on a 28-9 run.

They didn't trail from there, picking up a key win against an Eastern Conference rival and a fourth straight victory overall. It also snapped Boston's eight-game losing streak in Toronto.

The Celtics are now 21-7 on the season, second in the Eastern Conference, while the Raptors fell to 21-10, which has them tied for fifth in the East.

Notable Stats

Jaylen Brown, Boston: 30 points, six rebounds, four assists, 5-for-7 from three

Fred VanVleet, Toronto: 27 points, six assists, four steals

Kemba Walker, Boston: 22 points, four assists, +23, 5-for-10 from three

Kyle Lowry, Toronto: 14 points, eight assists

Jayson Tatum, Boston: 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals

Chris Boucher, Toronto: 24 points, six rebounds, two blocks

Serge Ibaka, Toronto: 12 points, eight rebounds

Gordon Hayward, Boston: 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals

Jaylen Brown Was Too Hot To Handle

The marquee matchup in this game may have been the battle at point guard between Walker and Lowry, but Brown ended up stealing the show. His third quarter was a thing of beauty, as he scored 16 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field (and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc) in the frame. 

He was absolutely cooking in the third:

Suffice to say, NBA Twitter was feeling Brown:

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that Brown was in the Christmas spirit. He tweeted Monday that he was always a big fan of watching NBA games on the holiday:

On Wednesday, Celtics fans around the globe probably felt the same way about Brown's performance.

The Celtics are a problem when Brown plays like he did in Toronto. Boston is now 8-0 when Brown scores 25 or more points in a game. In Boston's seven losses, meanwhile, Brown has averaged 13 points per game.

When Brown is cooking, the Celtics eat. It was a feast on Wednesday.

Injuries to Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Norman Powell Too Much for Toronto to Overcome

For a fourth straight game, the Raptors were without the trio of Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell. Against a talented team like Boston, even at home, it was too much for the Raptors to overcome. 

While VanVleet tried to pick up the slack offensively—and Boucher showed out off the bench—replacing Siakam's 25.1 points per game proved impossible. 

Lacking Gasol's defensive presence in the middle was noticeable as well, as was having no Powell in the backcourt. 

The Raptors don't need to panic—they are 2-2 without the trio in the lineup this month. They've managed to tread water thus far. 

But they were out of their depth Wednesday given those injuries. 

What's Next? 

Boston hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday at 4 p.m. ET, while the Raptors are next in action on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET in a rematch with the Celtics in Boston.