All the talk leading up to the NBA trade deadline was centered around the Boston Celtics’ pursuit of Paul George or Jimmy Butler in hopes of challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers for Eastern Conference supremacy, but as the clock struck 3 p.m. on Thursday, it was the Toronto Raptors who were buyers.

The Raptors made a last-minute deal for gritty veteran wingman P.J. Tucker, sending Jared Sullinger and two second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns in return, per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

While Tucker isn’t as sexy a name as George or Butler, when combined with last week’s trade for Serge Ibaka, the Raptors made a bigger push to challenge the Cavs than any other team in the conference.

Despite reported discussions with the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls involving their coveted 2017 first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics stood pat at the deadline. The East’s other serious challenger, the Washington Wizards, bolstered their bench on Wednesday, adding Nets wing Bojan Bogdanovic in exchange for a 2017 first-round pick, but there’s no doubt Toronto won this arms race.

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When all was said and done, the Raptors upgraded at both forward spots, replacing Terrence Ross’s streaky offense and the oft-injured Sullinger with defensive stalwarts Tucker and Ibaka. Outside of Ross and Sullinger — the latter of whom appeared in just 11 games in a Raptors uniform after signing a one-year deal — Toronto parted with the lesser of their two first-round picks this year (currently the Los Angeles Clippers’ selection at No. 25 overall) as well as their 2017 and 2018 second-round picks.

That’s a small price to pay for Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri to address his team’s biggest concern. Toronto began the season with the NBA’s best offense, and while the Raptors have cooled off in that regard, they’re still a top-five offensive outfit. The defense has been the biggest reason for Toronto falling back to earth with an 11-16 record since late December. Their defensive rating of 106 points allowed per 100 possessions currently ranks 16th, and they’re two points worse since Dec. 28.

Tucker, who averaged seven points, six rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists in 28.5 minutes off the bench for Phoenix this season, gives Toronto 3-and-D depth behind DeMarre Carroll and an extra body to throw at LeBron James should they meet the Cavs again in the playoffs. Throw in Ibaka’s 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game on the Orlando Magic, and the Raptors shored up their rebounding and defense both at the rim and on the perimeter — three categories where they ranked in the league’s lower half — all without handcuffing one of the league’s most potent offenses.

That’s the here and now. Any major concern for the Raptors gets pushed to the summer, when Kyle Lowry will command a max extension, Ibaka will seek a significant raise and Tucker will also be a free agent. Considering Toronto already has $65.6 million committed to DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Carroll and Cory Joseph next season, that leaves little wiggle room for roster improvements in July.

Still, that was going to be the case regardless of whether they acquired Ibaka and Tucker. At least now they have a leg up on keeping two players who represent roster upgrades for the future. Whether or not the Raptors are any closer to knocking off the Cavs — or even better than the Celtics and Wizards at this point — they’re at least better than they were a week ago. And that’s all anybody can really ask for at the trade deadline, especially one that saw their biggest competitors maintain the status quo.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach