When the Toronto Raptors visit the Boston Celtics on Friday night to conclude a two-game set, they hope to improve their play-in tournament seeding.
By defeating the Raptors (40-40) on Wednesday, the undermanned Celtics (55-25) secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They did this by winning 97-93.
To move up in the play-in standings, the Raptors, currently in ninth place in the East, need to win both of their remaining games.
The Raptors were one game behind the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks and two and a half games behind the seventh-place Miami Heat heading into NBA play on Thursday. The Raptors and Hawks are tied in the tiebreaker.
On Sunday, the Raptors will play their final regular-season game at home against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are currently in first place.
On Wednesday, Boston was without Jayson Tatum (hip), Marcus Smart (neck), Al Horford (back), Payton Pritchard (heel), and the Raptors (elbow/back) with a full roster.
The Raptors shot just 41.1% from the field and were 6-for-33 (18.2%) on 3-pointers overall.
VanVleet played the vast majority of the last part with a wrap on a hyper-extended left thumb, which he harmed during the game.
Toronto was led by 28 points and 11 rebounds from Pascal Siakam.
Malcolm Brogdon, who came off the bench to score 29 points, demonstrated the Celtics’ depth.
In the Eastern Conference seedings going into the playoffs, the Celtics will finish behind Milwaukee and ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers, who are in third place.
Additionally, Boston has established itself as Atlantic Division champion.
Mike Muscala scored 12 points in the Celtics’ 18th game and third start against the Raptors.
