It doesn’t get any easier for the Toronto Raptors, who return home from a 2-4 road trip Monday night to face the team with the best record in the league — the Boston Celtics.
The Raptors completed their extended trip Friday with a 145-113 loss to the Utah Jazz. Now they are back in Toronto, where Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett will play their second home game since being acquired from the New York Knicks late last month.
The arrival of the new players added some energy to the Raptors, but that was not evident against Utah.
The loss to the Jazz dropped the Raptors to 3-4 since their trade.
With Jakob Poeltl (ankle) still out, the Raptors struggled with Utah’s size. The Raptors were outscored 58-32 in points in the paint and outrebounded 56-31 in the loss.
The Celtics are coming off a 145-113 home win over the Houston Rockets and their former coach Ime Udoka on Saturday after being blown out 135-102 on the road by the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
They’ll face the Raptors without Jaylen Brown, who scored 32 points in 28 minutes in the win over the Rockets.
Brown hyperextended his right knee and is considered day-to-day.
That brings the scoring pressure to Jayson Tatum. He had 27 points against Houston before being ejected in the fourth quarter.
Tatum picked up two quick technical fouls for complaining about a non-call when his dunk was blocked. He also believed he had been fouled on a previous play.
