Coming off a loss

The Toronto Raptors had their five-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday by the Indiana Pacers, 120-115. The defending champs fell to 21-9 (13-3 at home) following the loss but still rank fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Raptors are trying to survive well without their leading scorer, Pascal Siakam (25.1 PPG), who’s out indefinitely with a groin injury, and Marc Gasol, who’s expected to miss weeks because of a hurt hamstring. Both have missed the team’s last three games.

With the absence, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet (17.8 PPG, 7.0 APG) will pick up the slack. Look for the two solid-scoring facilitators to have an uptick in their season averages, especially Lowry since he’s posting 25.6 points and 9.8 assists per game over his last five.

Toronto will be in revenge mode tomorrow. The crew fell short in its last meeting with the Boston Celtics, 112-106, and gave up 36 points in the fourth quarter.

Cooking up a good streak

The 20-7 Boston Celtics have won three-straight games, with the last two being resounding. They consecutively smoked the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets, holding both teams to just 93 points and winning by 21 and 26 points, respectively.

Kemba Walker (22.6 PPG), Jayson Tatum (21.6 PPG), and Jaylen Brown (19.8 PPG) will continue marching on as the Celtics’ scoring trio. All three shined in the win over the Raptors earlier in the season – Walker scored 22 and added two steals and two blocks, while the latter two each notched 25 points.

With Siakam out, Tatum and Brown could have an easier day roaming on both ends. Expect both to be aggressive in testing the depleted Raptors.

The Celtics are only 8-6 on the road but are one of the better defensive teams in the league. They are top two in points allowed (103.2 PAPG) and defensive efficiency.

PREDICTION:

The Raptors win a hard-fought battle to even up the season series, 106-103.