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Editor's note: settings in the 9th and 13th grafs
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points – 22 in the second period – and added 10 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors defeat the Boston Celtics 113-101 on Friday night.
Serge Ibaka added 21 points to the Raptors, while Kyle Lowry was 15, Danny Green 14 and Fred VanVleet 11.
Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 21 points and Jayson Tatum added 16 points with nine rebounds. Al Horford had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, while Gordon Hayward also scored 14 points and Jaylen Brown had 13 points.
Toronto took a three-point lead in the fourth quarter and had six minutes with six minutes left.
Lowry's pointer with about two minutes of play gives the Raptors an eight-point lead, and his jumper increases the lead to 10 points at the last minute, setting the match between two contenders at the Eastern Conference.
Tatum completed the first quarter scoring with a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 25-18 lead.
The Raptors took a 39-38 lead over Ibaka's racing rider with a time of 5:27 to play in the first half, but 19 seconds later, Tatum restored a Boston point lead with a jumper back.
The teams spent more than two minutes without scoring before Ibaka gave Toronto a 41-40 lead with a twist on the turnaround.
The Celtics took a 13-5 lead before VanVleet gave a three-point whistle, cutting Boston's lead to 53-49.
Ibaka led the scorers in the first half with 13 points and Leonard added nine for Toronto.
Tatum and Irving led the Celtics to the half with nine points each.
Leonard scored 15 points in the second half in just over six minutes to give Toronto a 71-69 lead.
A pair of CJ Miles gave Toronto a five-point lead, while he was 1:46 in the third quarter.
The Raptors led 82-79 after the third quarter.
Brown's three-pointer gave the Celtics a quick one-point lead with 9:03 left in the fourth but Toronto picked up a three-point lead on VanVleet's layup and Norman Powell's rider.
Leonard's 3-pointer brought the lead to six with 6:16 to go.
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