The Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors, 132-125, at TD Garden on Thursday evening.

The Celtics (19-17) are headed into the All-Star break on excellent form and this win over the Raptors (17-19) was their fourth straight victory -- and it wasn't an easy win by any means. The Raptors grabbed a 34-31 lead in the first quarter and made it a four-point game (70-66) by the halftime break. However, Boston turned things around in the third quarter and responded with a 35-22 score, meaning they jumped to a nine-point advantage with only 12 minutes left on the clock. Toronto won the final quarter by just two points (33-31) but that wasn't enough, and the Celtics came through with a strong win at home to close out the first half of their regular season. Boston shot an impressive 60.8 percent from the field in the win while also making 44.8 percent of his three-point attempts, while Toronto shot 49.5 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range in the loss.

Jayson Tatum carried the Celtics offensively with 27 points but also added 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Jaylen Brown chipped in with 21 points, seven boards and four dimes. Kemba Walker had 15 points and six assists, while Tristan Thompson ended with 13 points and three rebounds. Eight Boston players scored in double figures here, and the performances of Grant Williams (17 points) and Jeff Teague (14 points) stood out off the bench.

Norman Powell had 25 points to lead the Raptors' starting five, but the team's top two performances came off the bench since Chris Boucher had 30 points and five rebounds while Terence Davis notched 22 points and four assists. Kyle Lowry only had 14 points but he added 19 assists, and Aron Baynes posted 13 points with nine rebounds.