BOSTON — Payton Pritchard had 28 points and eight assists, and the Boston Celtics held off the short-handed Toronto Raptors 125-117 on Friday (Saturday in Manila).
Jaylen Brown added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who won for the fifth time in six games. Boston connected on 14 3-pointers and shot 54% from the field to help pull away in the second half.
The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Raptors. They played without starters Brandon Ingram (sprained right thumb) and Scottie Barnes (sprained right knee). Toronto center Jakob Poeltl also missed his ninth straight game with a sprained back.
RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both had 19 points for Toronto. Immanuel Quickley finished with 17 points and 13 assists.
One game after making just seven 3s during a win at Charlotte, the Raptors knocked down 18 from beyond the arc to keep pace with the Celtics, who led 68-60 at halftime.
Boston found a groove in the third quarter, using a 13-3 run to push its lead to 93-73.
Toronto chipped away and got back within 108-103 with just over six minutes to play. But a 12-3 spurt by the Celtics got the lead back up to double digits.
Meanwhile, Jalen Williams scored 26 points, Kenrich Williams added 21, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:07 left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 21-point deficit in the second half and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Friday night.
Memphis and Oklahoma City were working with short-handed lineups.
Ajay Mitchell added 23 points for Oklahoma City, which has won 16 straight against Memphis, including a sweep in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Aaron Wiggins finished with 16 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 23 points and seven rebounds. GG Jackson finished with 18 points, and Santi Aldama added 15. Memphis has lost six of seven.
Oklahoma City whittled away and pulled within 80-68 midway through the third, helped by a 15-6 run. Oklahoma City shot 61% in the third period and trailed 94-81 after three quarters.
The Thunder took the lead with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter when a 3-pointer by Kenrich Williams made it 115-114. Memphis guard Cedric Coward’s 14-foot attempt in the closing second was blocked by Alex Caruso to preserve the Thunder comeback.
While Memphis has dealt with absences much of the season, Oklahoma City played without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, among others. While Hartenstein has been out for several games with a soleus strain, Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Cason Wallace played in Wednesday’s 129-125 overtime loss to Utah.
Memphis continued to miss primary starters Ja Morant (right calf contusion) and Zach Edey (left ankle stress) among six rotation players on the injury list.
