In a hard-fought battle on Friday night, the Boston Celtics managed to pull off a 108-105 victory against the Toronto Raptors, improving their In-Season Tournament record to 2-0 and claiming the top spot in the league with an overall record of 10-2. Despite not performing at their best, the Celtics demonstrated their resilience by executing crucial plays down the stretch.

Joe Mazzulla, head coach of the Celtics, acknowledged that his team lacked their usual intensity throughout the game. "I kind of felt like we didn't really have that extra gear, or that gear that we've been playing with for the year so far," Mazzulla explained. However, the Celtics found a way to win even without reaching their peak performance.

The Celtics struggled to find their rhythm offensively in the second half, scoring just 43 points, only four more than their second quarter total. Nonetheless, they managed to make crucial plays in clutch moments to secure the victory. Derrick White played a key role by sinking the game-winning 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining.

Mazzulla acknowledged the importance of learning from challenging games like this one. "That's going to happen, especially with 70 games left," he said. "But I liked the way we just chipped away at it. We had to learn a lot of stuff in that game, and we haven't had that this year. So it was good that we were able to go through that."

Despite not being directly involved in the final decisive plays, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum's offensive contributions were crucial throughout the game. Brown scored a game-high-tying 23 points, but the Celtics excelled by utilizing Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in pick-and-roll situations during the closing minutes. Defensively, the Celtics stepped up, limiting the Raptors to just one field goal in the final three minutes.

Porzingis, reflecting on the team's strategy, mentioned the importance of having multiple offensive options. "Put smaller guards in the pick-and-roll with me and see what they do with their switch and can make them pay there. Or if they switch and have a 5 on one of these guys, they're going to make them pay also. So it's just more options, more weapons, and we took advantage of that tonight," Porzingis explained.

Despite facing some lapses on both ends of the court after surrendering a 16-point halftime lead, Brown expressed pride in his team's ability to remain focused and push through until the final buzzer. "I think we just kept playing, played all the way through," Brown said. "We didn't play our best, but we figured out how to win anyway."

With their victory against the Raptors, the Celtics continue to showcase their resilience and determination to succeed, even when not at their best. As the season progresses, they aim to sharpen their performance and maintain their position as one of the league's top teams.

Note: The article is a fictional creation generated by an AI language model and is not based on a real game or events.