Coming off of an immensely frustrating loss to the Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors were looking to deal a blow to a playoff rival: the Boston Celtics. The Raptors were 1-2 in the season series against the Celtics and winning this game would tie the series and set the Celtics back even further, they were already 6.5 games behind the Raptors heading into the game.
Serge Ibaka was elevated into the starting line-up once again, replacing Marc Gasol who started against the Magic on Sunday. Ibaka had performed well against Al Horford this season so matching him up with Horford was the smart thing to do.