Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens made sure to emphasize that Wednesday's game got away from his team in the odd quarters, given that Boston's second-ranked-but-not-playing-like-it-lately defense gave up a whopping 75 points as the Toronto Raptors shot a combined 68.9 percent in the first and third quarters.
Still, the Celtics were tied with the Raptors with under three minutes to play in the final quarter. So it hardly mattered that DeMar DeRozan had erupted for 30 points over the first three quarters or that Jonas Valanciunas couldn't miss. Boston had put itself in position to steal a win against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, and the only downside to their defensive lapses would have been catching some grief at the next day's film session.