Every day, a star is born. That’s what Jay-Z says, at least.

Today was Luke Harangody’s turn to morph into a blazing ball of fire, in the process making Jay-Z look like a prophet. Okay, so I’m entirely hyperbolizing by saying Harangody’s star was born tonight. He’s far more of a fan favorite than a star, and he may head straight back to his spot on the bench immediately upon KG’s return.

But Harangody’s contributions raised a few eyebrows in Celtics nation, including my own. The same reasons he was successful in college allowed him to murder an admittedly porous Toronto Raptors defense this evening. He’s got a motor that never stops, and a nose focused solely on sniffing out the basketball. Most likely, we’ll look back at this as the best game Harangody plays all season. But let’s still enjoy his breakout game and marvel how quickly he’s improved from second-round afterthought to “hmm, his future’s mighty intriguing.”

Need another reason to cherish today, besides Harangody’s unexpected double-double? How ’bout this: Kevin Garnett could return either Monday or Wednesday, and Kendrick Perkins — who has participated in three-on-three games the past two days — should return to practice next week. The Celtics are now 28-7 and still lead the Eastern Conference, and Luke Harangody is only a few months away from surpassing Blake Griffin as the top Rookie of the Year candidate.

I kid, I kid. But Harangody seized tonight as his own, and — though he’s not really a star like I jokingly claimed — the prospects for his NBA future have never shone brighter.