BOSTON (AP) — Marcus Morris had 25 points and nine rebounds before getting ejected in the closing seconds, and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors 110-99 on Saturday night.
Jayson Tatum added 24 points, six rebounds and four assists as Boston posted its sixth straight win and moved within two games of Toronto for the top seed in the East.
Both teams have six games remaining. They meet for the final time on Wednesday in Toronto.
Things got heated in the final seconds when four technical fouls were assessed between the teams. Morris was hit with two and was tossed. Toronto’s C.J. Miles and Serge Ibaka received one each.
For Morris, it was his fourth straight game with at least 20 points.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Ibaka added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
After giving up 24 points in the paint in the first half, the Celtics mixed in some zone defensively in the second half to try to limit the Raptors’ opportunities.
It was effective late, and helped ignite a 10-0 Celtics run that gave them a 104-94 lead with 3:27 left on a layup by Tatum.
There were 15 ties and 20 lead changes.