By Canadian Press

Tatum scores 20 points, Celtics beat Raptors 113-111

Oct 9, 2021 | 8:45 PM

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum is quickly rounding into regular-season form.

The Boston forward had 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 113-111 on Saturday night in a preseason game.

Tatum still has a little fine-tuning to do though after turning the ball over six times. But for the most part he was solid working his way out of double teams, finding teammates for open looks.

Al Horford scored 16 points and Romeo Langford added 13 for Boston.

“He’s getting a lot of attention,” Horford said of Tatum. “He’s getting his ball in his hands a lot and Toronto likes to double. Time and time again he just did a good job of getting rid of the ball. He’s doing a good job of feeling it out and knowing when to be aggressive and go score and knowing when to pass it. It’s a fine balance and I feel like that is one of the areas where he is going to take a big step this year.”

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Juancho Hernangomez made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to put the Celtics ahead for good. Toronto’s Dalano Banton missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer as time was winding down, and Isaac Bonga’s put back of an offensive rebound didn’t fall.

“We were doing a great job moving the ball, got a lot of open looks,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said about Boston’s 29 assists. “That’s what we’ve been emphasizing since day one.”

Fred VanVleet had 22 points for the Raptors. OG Anunoby added 17 points and Precious Achiuwa chipped in with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Scottie Barnes, the No. 4 pick in the NBA draft, had nine points and eight assists.

KNICKS 117, WIZARDS 99

WASHINGTON (AP) — RJ Barrett scored 18 points and Derrick Rose added 15 points and eight assists in New York’s victory over Washington.

Obi Toppin had 13 points and eight rebounds for New York, which outscored the Wizards 36-21 in the third quarter. The Knicks connected on 24 of 52 3-point attempts, including four each from Barrett and Kevin Knox.

Washington got a big game off the bench from Montrezl Harrell, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Harrell was 10 of 13 from the free throw line, but the Wizards shot just 5 of 31 from beyond the 3-point arc.

HAWKS 91, GRIZZLIES 87

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — John Collins had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 16 points and Atlanta held off Memphis.

Danilo Gallinari added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. The Hawks played without Trae Young because of a quadriceps injury.

Desmond Bane turned in another strong preseason game for Memphis, scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Santi Aldama scored 16 points and had nine rebounds for Memphis, which made just 10 of 45 3-pointers.

It was a rough night for Memphis rookie Ziaire Williams. He was 2 of 13 from the field and had just six points.

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The Associated Press