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Team statement
Led by Thomas, Celtics finally beat division-leading Raptors, win third straight overall
By Adam Himmelsbach
Globe Staff

About a half-hour before the Celtics faced the Raptors on Wednesday night, it was announced that Toronto’s All-Star point guard, Kyle Lowry, was expected to miss the game because of a sore elbow.

But the Celtics did not find out until the starting lineups were announced and Cory Joseph’s name was called instead of Lowry’s. The coaches might have intentionally withheld the information because they did not want them to have any reason to let up, not even slightly.

They had lost all three games this season to the division-leading Raptors. Without Lowry, the task would become considerably less daunting. But that also, in a sense, made this game even more important psychologically, because if the Celtics could not beat Toronto at home without Lowry, when could they?

“We didn’t know that until the starting lineups, so it was just, ‘We’ve got to win this game,’?’’ point guard Isaiah Thomas said. “Whether he’s playing or not, I’m sure they wouldn’t care if any of our guys were out. So, they’re still a good team without him. They’re obviously a better team with him, but we were so focused in on just getting the win.’’

The Celtics came out and ended the regular-season series with an emphatic 91-79 win, their third in a row. It was the second-lowest point total of the season for the Raptors, and the first time they were held to fewer than 90 since November.

“That team, they beat us, they spanked us,’’ Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of the Celtics. “They are a very good team, and we talked about how good defensively they were. If you don’t play with force, you’re not going to score, and we had trouble scoring.’’

Toronto had won 33 games in a row when holding its opponent to fewer than 100 points. But the Celtics snapped that streak and gained some confidence in the process. With the win, Boston clinched its first winning season in coach Brad Stevens’s three-year tenure.

Stevens is usually reluctant to acknowledge small mile markers, particularly in the midst of a playoff race. But after Wednesday’s game he seemed pleased and even reflective, if only briefly.

“I feel like there’s real progress,’’ he said. “And it’s been pretty consistent progress. We’re certainly going to have our bad games and we’re certainly going to have games that are unique throughout an 82-game season, but there’s been good progress, there’s been good growth. And that’s my biggest focus.’’

And then Stevens also made it clear that he is not satisfied, not yet.

“You don’t sign up to come to the Boston Celtics to win 42 games,’’ he said. “So we’ve got a long way to go.’’

With the Heat’s loss to the Spurs on Wednesday, the Celtics (42-30) are now once again tied for third place in the Eastern Conference with the Hawks. The Heat and the Hornets are lurking a half-game back. The Celtics will now go on a five-game West Coast trip that begins Saturday against the Suns.

“We wanted some confidence, some momentum going into this tough West Coast trip, and we got it,’’ Thomas said. “We wanted these three games and we got them.’’

Thomas had 23 points to lead the Celtics, and Amir Johnson added 11 points and 14 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points for the Raptors, who made just 7 of 16 free throws in the second half and shot 34.8 percent from the field.

The score was tied at 46 at halftime, and in the third quarter Evan Turner sparked Boston’s run. He had 13 points in the period and with 3:12 left he hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, making it 67-58. After making just 11 of 68 3-point attempts to start the season, Turner has now made 4 of 5 over the last three games.

“I’m not a good 3-point shooter, but I wasn’t 15 percent bad, you know what I’m saying?’’ Turner said, smiling. “It had to balance itself out. So it’s finally going in.’’

Boston stretched its lead to 11 when Turner found Jonas Jerebko for a one-handed dunk, but the Raptors responded with a 10-0 burst and pulled within 69-68 on a floater by Terrence Ross with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter.

Then Thomas needed just 90 seconds to seize control of the game. He hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, made a smooth pass to Johnson for a dunk, and then drained another three from the left arc, and suddenly the Boston lead was back to 79-72 with 5:12 left.

A layup by Jason Thompson pulled the Raptors within 79-74, but Avery Bradley scored 8 points over the final four minutes to seal Boston’s win.

“Probably the most encouraging thing was the way we played down the stretch and executed and made plays and made the next play,’’ Stevens said. “That was good.’’

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.