5 Who popped and 2 who flopped in nail-biting victory over the Celtics

Well, that was fun.

This has not been the preseason that the Toronto Raptors hoped for. It was supposed to be a time for this roster to gain some chemistry after essentially never playing together last season. Yet injuries to Bruce Brown, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett blew that plan up, and even rookie Ja'Kobe Walter has not had a chance to get onto the court.

In part due to injuries and in part due to the limitations of the roster, the Raptors had been embarrassed in two-straight preseason games, blown out by the lowly Washington Wizards and then overwhelmed by the deep reserves of the Boston Celtics. With a rematch against Boston in order for Tuesday night where the Celtics were expected to play their stars significant minutes, the Raptors' fate seemed all-but-sealed.

Raptors finally had an encouraging showing

Then the game began, and the Raptors showed their first real signs of life of the entire preseason. The starting lineup -- missing two expected starters -- got out to a huge lead over the Celtics on the backs of hot shooting from Gradey Dick (expected but welcome) and Scottie Barnes (unexpected and welcome). Toronto was up 46-27 at the end of the first quarter on the defending champs playing a largely normal rotation.

This was the Celtics, however, so they battled back, going on a 19-0 run to tie the game before the Raptors ever scored a point in the second quarter. Toronto should have folded at that point to the superior talent and chemistry of the Celtics, but instead they kept their composure and fought with Boston the rest of the way, ultimately coming away with a thrilling one-point victory, 119-118, when undrafted rookie center Branden Carlson blocked the game-winning shot from the Celtics' Jordan Walsh.

This was not a game against the Celtics' scrubs; Jayson Tatum played 34 minutes, Derrick White 31. The Raptors played their starters all 30-32 minutes and went toe-to-toe with Boston before ultimately winning. It was a massively encouraging game for many of the Raptors' players. Who popped against the champs, and who flopped in their minutes on the court? Let's take a deeper look.