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Raptors hand Celtics loss in Stevens' debut

Oct 31, 2013 - 4:26 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Rudy Gay had 19 points and eight rebounds, Kyle Lowry added 11 points and eight assists and the Toronto Raptors spoiled Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens' NBA debut with a 93-87 win on Wednesday night.

Boston's Jeff Green led all scorers with 25 points in the loss.

The Celtics trimmed a 12-point halftime deficit with a 23-8 run to tie the game 71-71 heading into the fourth quarter. The back-and-forth affair continued for much of the final frame until Amir Johnson hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring to put the Raptors up by four with just over six minutes to play and they never trailed after that.

"It wasn't what we drew up, but we'll take it," Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said of Johnson's 3-pointer. "He's been working on that shot, he shoots them every day in practice."

Toronto's Tyler Hansbrough and Jonas Valanciunas both recorded double digits in rebounds with 12 and 11, respectively.

Boston, playing its first game without 15-year veteran Paul Pierce, relied heavily on the efforts of veterans Jeff Green and Brandon Bass down the stretch.

They were also without forward Kevin Garnett and sharp-shooter Jason Terry, who both accompanied Pierce to Brooklyn in a draft-night trade for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph and three first-round picks.

Stevens made his NBA regular-season debut after six seasons as coach of the Butler Bulldogs. He signed a six-year, $22 million deal in the summer after the Celtics let Doc Rivers go to the Los Angeles Clippers for an unprotected first-round draft pick.

"I walk out of here, certainly disappointed because you're in a close game and you have a chance, but I walk out of here with some positives to build on," Stevens said of his debut.

Celtics rookie center Vitor Faverani helped Boston jump out to a 26-21 lead after one quarter with nine points in his NBA debut. The Brazilian finished with 13 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes of play.

Toronto outscored Boston 28-11 in the second quarter to take a comfortable lead into halftime.

With the Celtics down by five in the closing seconds of the third, Jordan Crawford hit a 3-pointer. Gay then committed an offensive foul on the other end and Bass had a put-back dunk off a Crawford missed layup as time expired.

Gay hit a couple of jumpers late in the fourth after the Johnson 3-pointer to seal it for Toronto, which snapped a three-game losing streak in home openers.

Bass finished with 17 points, going 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Game Notes

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo did not play due to his rehab from a torn ACL he suffered last season ... Boston rookie Kelly Olynyk made his NBA debut in his hometown of Toronto ... Johnson became the 10th player in franchise history to appear in 300 games with Raptors.