Can Joe Mazzulla's Celtics rebound from Wednesday's loss to the Nuggets?
Can Joe Mazzulla's Celtics rebound from Wednesday's loss to the Nuggets?Barry Chin/Globe Staff
The Celtics suffered their first defeat of the new year on Wednesday, falling to the Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets in Boston’s first home loss since Dec. 15.
Jaylen Brown’s 33 points and a 20-rebound performance from Neemias Queta weren’t enough for the Celtics to run their win streak to five.
Boston will look for a bounce-back performance on Friday with the Raptors in town for the first time this season. The Celtics have won both matchups in Toronto this season.
The Raptors have won five of their past six, with the only defeat also coming at home against the Nuggets. Toronto is coming off a narrow win in Charlotte on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Immanuel Quickley.
Tip-off on Friday is set for 7 p.m. at TD Garden and on NBC Sports Boston. Here’s a preview.
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV, radio: NBCSB, WBZ-FM 98.5
Line: Boston -9. O/U: 223.0.
RAPTORS
Season record: 23-15. vs. spread: 17-20, 1 push. Over/under: 14-24
Last 10 games: 6-4. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 3-7
CELTICS
Season record: 23-13. vs. spread: 21-15. Over/under: 16-20
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 7-3. Over/under: 4-6
TEAM STATISTICS
Points per game: Toronto 114.0, Boston 117.6
Points allowed per game: Toronto 111.9, Boston 110.6
Field goal percentage: Toronto .474, Boston .474
Opponent field goal percentage: Toronto .459, Boston .450
3-point percentage: Toronto .346, Boston .369
Opponent 3-point percentage: Toronto .342, Boston .372
Stat of the day: Queta’s 20 rebounds on Wednesday were the most by a Boston player since Jared Sullinger grabbed 20 in a game during the 2015-16 season.
Notes: Denver made 20 of its 44 3-point attempts in Wednesday’s victory. “I thought our defense did its job, but they had a good shooting night,” Brown said. “When a team plays like that, they’re tough to beat. And we still had a chance to win the game. It’s just a few possessions offensively and defensively that we just got to be sharper, but, you know, on any given night teams can get hot like that.” ... Boston’s loss to Denver on Wednesday night, coupled with Toronto’s victory over Charlotte, moved the Raptors within one game of the Celtics, who occupy third place in the Eastern Conference. ... The Raptors shot 3 of 27 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first three quarters, but made 4 of their 7 3-point attempts in the fourth to beat the Hornets. ... Brandon Ingram, Toronto’s leading scorer (21.8 ppg), was limited to 11 minutes Wednesday after he jammed his thumb early in the first quarter. Ingram is questionable for Friday’s game.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.