By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Toronto Raptors defeated the Boston Celtics 110-97 in Scotiabank Arena, upsetting the defending NBA champions.
The team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic went up to 10-31 in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season, ways away from contending for a spot in the Playoffs. On the opposite end, the C’s fell to 28-12.
“I think we played with no spirit. No personality. It’s just a weak performance from us,” reacted Latvian star Kristaps Porzingis after tallying 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal in just under 35 minutes on Wednesday.
“It feels like shit right now. We played some bad basketball,” he continued, “We are in a bad moment right now, for sure. We have to be realistic and look in the mirror. We’re not playing the best basketball. We’re not executing. There’s a lot of things we’re not doing well, and we have to be honest with ourselves, otherwise we’ll just keep going like this.”
“We know we will get past this. We know it. I know it. But we have to start,” he expressed confidence in bouncing back, “We have to start playing better. We just can’t keep cruising and expect to just turn it up toward the end. So, it’s in our hands.”
Portuguese Neemias Queta was limited to garbage time in the fourth quarter for the team guided by Joe Mazzulla.
On the winning end, Austrian Jakob Poeltl chipped in a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double plus two assists and one block.