It wasn’t pretty but the Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors to remain undefeated at the TD Garden this season at 16-0.

The Celtics were on the second night of back-to-back and were without Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis. They blew a 20-point lead but were still able to pull away with the victory in what was a total team effort as head coach Joe Mazzulla utilized his full roster with the exception of Lamar Stevens who received his 18th DNPCD on Friday at home.

With Porzingis and Horford out, it opened the door for Luke Kornet to get his first start of the season and log his first 20-point game with the Celtics (sixth of his career). He finished the game with 20-points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. After the game, Mazzulla said it was great to see Kornet on the court.

“I really trust Luke and he has an innate ability to navigate our defensive coverages… On the offensive end, he does a really good job creating indecision against switching… When you’re playing against switching and trying to be unique defensively, he can really execute that.”

Jaylen Brown led the way for Boston with a 31-point and 10-rebound double-double performance. He finished the game shooting 11-of-16 from the field and made five 3-pointers and six assists. Brown was efficient and everything the Celtics needed to secure a win but also to remain undefeated at home this season.

After the game, Brown credited the coaching and he believes it’s a big reason they’ve been successful this season.

“I think the coaching has been excellent this year in making sure that we see the game the way it’s meant to be played.”

The Celtics also received another All-Star performance from Derrick White who showed up big down the stretch by hitting the go-ahead shot for the Celtics when it mattered the most. Despite an off shooting night, White finished with 21-points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.

This was Boston’s final home game of the 2023 calendar year. The team travels to San Antonio for New year’s Eve and don’t return back home until 2024 when they host the Utah Jazz on Jan. 5.

The Celtics will end the year by winning 23-straight home games in the regular season dating back to last season (16-0 this season). Their last home loss was on Mar. 5.

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