The Toronto Raptors are on the brink of securing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after a 96-78 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points in a defensive battle, helping the Raptors (56-22) build a three-game lead over the Celtics (52-25) with four games remaining. After losing five of its last eight games, Toronto appears to be back on track.

Boston has generally stayed afloat in Kyrie Irving's absence, but the team has now lost two games in a row against opponents heading to the playoffs.

DeRozan has struggled with his efficiency during the Raptors' recent slide, as he shot just 1-of-18 from three-point range in his past six games heading into Wednesday. 

He shot 3-of-4 from deep against the Celtics, but he finished just 6-of-17 from the field.

Still, the Raptors staved off the Celtics thanks to their impressive depth and great effort on defense. Boston struggled to get anything going on offense, shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 3-of-22 from three-point range.

Toronto started off slowly on offense as well, scoring a season-low 14 points in the first quarter as the Celtics earned an early road lead.

Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star detailed just how bad things were in the opening quarter:

However, Toronto's bench helped turn things around from there. Delon Wright keyed a 20-3 run in the second quarter, putting the hosts up 43-33 at halftime. The reserve point guard scored eight points with nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks while finishing plus-19.

Fellow reserve Fred VanVleet also chipped in 15 points to help lead a well-rounded bench effort.

In the third quarter, the role players helped Toronto build as much as a 20-point lead:

Boston couldn't keep up and never cut the Raptors' lead to single digits in the second half.

Celtics point guard Terry Rozier, who missed Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks with an ankle injury, finished with only two points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field.

Reserves Marcus Morris (21 points) and Greg Monroe (17 points) led the Celtics in scoring. Those two couldn't help Boston avoid a disappointing loss against a fellow Eastern Conference contender, however.

Toronto will continue its difficult stretch with a home game Friday against the Indiana Pacers, who currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. Boston has a far easier path coming up with home games against the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks set for Friday and Sunday, respectively.