BOSTON — Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Shaquille O'Neal added 16 points and nine boards, and the Boston Celtics avenged a loss to Toronto by beating the Raptors 110-101 on Friday night.
It was the Celtics' third straight win after they had consecutive losses for the only time this season, the second coming at Toronto on Sunday.
Glen "Big Baby" Davis had 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter for Boston. Paul Pierce finished with 18 points, Ray Allen 17 and Rajon Rondo collected 14 assists in his first game after missing three straight with a strained left hamstring.
The Celtics lost 102-101 in Toronto, squandering a lead in the final 21 seconds.
Linas Kleiza led Toronto's balanced scoring with 18 points. The Raptors, who had won four straight, had six players in double figures. Jose Calderon had 14 assists and 12 points.
Rondo paid immediate dividends, getting eight assists in the opening quarter, many leading to dunks or layups.
Raptors forward Reggie Evans was helped to the Toronto bench midway through the third quarter. Coach Jay Triano said after the game that Evans broke his right foot.
The Celtics had opened a 21-point edge early in the final quarter, but Toronto closed it to 99-93 on Kleiza's basket with 5:20 to play. Davis then hit a shot for Boston and Garnett tipped in his own miss, pushing the Celtics back up by nine with 4 1/2 minutes left.
Pierce's 3-pointer made it 105-95 with just under three minutes to play. The Celtics were never threatened the rest of the way.
Boston led 58-52 at halftime and opened its big lead in the third quarter. The Celtics had assists on all but one of their 22 baskets in the first half.
The Celtics, who shot 59 percent in the quarter, outscored Toronto 28-15, holding the Raptors to 15.8 percent from the floor (3 of 19).
After Calderon nailed a jumper for Toronto to start the third-quarter scoring, Boston had the next 11 points, with Garnett's jam off Rondo's alley-oop pass the highlight. Garnett also had a dunk in the spree.
The teams traded baskets before Boston took control by scoring 14 of the next 17 points. The Celtics led 86-67 entering the final 12 minutes, but the Raptors made their charge.
Notes
Celtics G Nate Robinson was whistled for a Flagrant 1 foul on Kleiza in the second quarter. … Rivers didn't mind playing the Raptors again so quickly. In fact, he'd like to see teams play consecutive nights. "I thought it made the second game more competitive," he said before the game. "I loved that fact. I wish we'd do it more often." … Peja Stojakovic played his second game with Toronto after being acquired from New Orleans on November 20. He had 13 points in 5-of-7 shooting. … Rondo got a big ovation when he came out of the locker room late for pregame warmups. … The Celtics wore their third jerseys that are dark green. … Patriots WR Deion Branch was seated courtside.