BOSTON — Malcolm Brogdon scored 29 points and hit two late free throws to help the Boston Celtics hold on for a 97-93 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

With Milwaukee’s win over Chicago, Boston (55-25) will be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Jaylen Brown added 25 points and 11 rebounds. Derrick White finished with 17 points in the opener of a two-game series. The teams meet again Friday in Boston.

A night after their two-point loss at Philadelphia, the Celtics played without three starters. All-Star Jayson Tatum (bruised left hip), Marcus Smart (neck spasms) and Al Horford (back stiffness) all got the night off on the second night of the back-to-back.

The Raptors (40-40) fell a game behind eighth-place Atlanta (41-39) in the standings. Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Scottie Barnes added 18 points and eight rebounds.

Toronto went just 6 of 33 from beyond the arc. Boston didn’t shoot much better (11 of 38).

Siakam scored 14 straight for Toronto to help the Raptors trim what had been a 13-point deficit to 74-72 late in the third quarter.

Brogdon scored the final five points of the quarter to give Boston a seven-point cushion heading into the fourth.

Toronto kept chipping away and used an 8-1 run to tie the game at 82, before the Celtics responded with five straight points.

A dunk by Precious Achiuwa got Toronto within 89-86. Boston answered again, this time with a 6-2 spurt to get it back to six with a minute to play.

Boston ran the clock down, but Brogdon’s turnover led to a Raptors fast break and dunk by Achiuwa, who was fouled. He completed the three-point play to make it 95-93 with 12.6 seconds left.

Brogdon was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and hit both free throws.

NETS 123, PISTONS 108: Mikal Bridges scored 26 points and Brooklyn moved to the verge of a playoff spot by winning at Detroit.

Former Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie shot 1 for 10 from the floor but matched his career high with 16 assists for the Nets (44-36), who won for the fourth time in five games. They need one more victory or a loss by Miami (42-37) to clinch the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Joe Harris had 18 points on six 3-pointers, all in Brooklyn’s 47-point first quarter.

R.J. Hampton scored a career-high 27 points for Detroit, which has lost 22 of its last 23 games. Jaden Ivey had 23 points and 10 assists.

KNICKS 138, PACERS 129: Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points – one shy of his career high – and Quintin Grimes had a career-high 36 in New York’s victory at Indiana.

Obi Toppin added 32 points for the Knicks, who shot 52%. Mitchell Robinson finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Jalen Smith scored 19 points for Indiana, T.J. McConnell had 18 and Bennedict Mathurin 17. McConnell had 12 assists.

With the No. 5 seed playoff spot clinched, the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson sat out to rest his right hand. RJ Barrett missed his second consecutive game because of an illness.  Julian Randle, who leads the Knicks with 25.1 points per game, continued to sit out because of a left ankle sprain.

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