The Raptors Survive An Epic Double Overtime Thriller (125-122) To Force Game 7 vs. The Celtics

 

    Where do you begin after watching the craziest game of the NBA playoffs this season? Let's start with the most important fact: Toronto outlasted Boston 125-122 in double overtime meaning that Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals will be in primetime on Friday night (9, TNT). The winner advances to face Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals while the loser exits the Disney World bubble for good. As you can assume by the score and the stage, there were many heroes for both teams and perhaps only one real goat. There was no question who was the star of the night (and perhaps the best player of the series): Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (game-high 33 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) simply refused to let his team lose. Toronto has now won three of the last four games in the series after Boston took the first two games. 

    The Raptors also received a solid outing from Lowry's backcourt mate Fred VanVleet (21 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals) which was not a shock. Arguably, Toronto's second-best player on the night was an unexpected one-Norman Powell-who scored 23 points (including 10 points in OT) off the bench. OG Anunoby (13 points, 13 rebounds) had a double-double while Pascal Siakam (12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) didn't do much when you consider that he played the most minutes of anybody on either side (54). Serge Ibaka was questionable coming into Game 6 with a sprained ankle but he gutted it out and posted 13 points with three blocks in 21 minutes off the bench.

    Before this evening, the Celtics were 15-0 when Jaylen Brown scored 25+ points in a playoff game. As I've always said, goofy stats are made to be broken since Brown was excellent with a team-high 31 points, a team-high 16 rebounds and two steals. Marcus Smart (23 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) had a triple-double while Jayson Tatum (29 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) nearly matched that. Daniel Theis (18 points, 7 rebounds) also played well, particularly in overtime where he finished a pair of alley-oops. I can't fairly pin the loss on one guy but Kemba Walker (5 points on 2-for-11 shooting, 7 assists) was invisible. If he had been anywhere near his normal self, Boston would have won this going away by double-digits. 

    This followed Game 5's start as Toronto was ice cold but the Celtics weren't much better as they grabbed a 25-21 lead after the first 12 minutes. Both teams scored 27 points in the second quarter giving Boston a slim 52-48 advantage at halftime. A disturbing storyline from the entire series continued as the Raptors outscored the Celtics in the third quarter (33-25). I could probably be on Brad Stevens' staff (assuming that I could quarantine and pass a bunch of Covid-19 tests in time) if I solved that riddle, why does that keep happening? The first quarter was a brickfest and the fourth quarter was the sequel that nobody wanted as neither team could buy a bucket but the C's did just enough (21-17) to force overtime. The first overtime was pretty gross as well because each club could only manage a measly eight points apiece. Things heated up in the second overtime with the Raptors outscoring the Celtics 19-16.

Take a breath, I think that we all need one at this point. Some stats were eerily similar: they each hit 44 shots from the floor including 19 3-pointers. Toronto had twice as many steals (10-5) and blocks (8-4) and three less turnovers (15-12) which gives you an idea how Boston lost when they grabbed 12 more rebounds (58-46) including six more offensive (14-8) and dished out 10 more assists (32-22). Oh and the Raptors' bench outscored the Celtics' bench 38-16. Yeesh. 

    Looking ahead to Friday which promises to be very exciting for basketball and sports fans in general, Boston is 23-7 all-time in Game 7s (2-1 under Stevens) while Toronto is 3-2 all-time although they've won their last three in a row. There really isn't that much left to say, it's just a question of which players/team will step up when it matters the absolute most? The stakes are going to be very high as the Raptors bid for their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance while the Celtics try for their third trip there in four years. You figured that this would be a great series and while it's been bumpy at times, here we are.  

     

    

    

    

    

    

Anunoby Hits A Game-Winning 3-Pointer At The Buzzer, Toronto Gets By Boston 104-103 In Gm 3

 

    Tonight was a painful reminder to the Celtics and their fans to not get too ahead of ourselves. Relax with all the NBA Finals talk since they still have a ton of work to do to make that dream a reality. Kemba Walker (team-high 29 points) found Daniel Theis (9 points, 7 rebounds) with a beautiful no-look bounce pass and the resulting dunk put the C's ahead 103-101 with 0.5 seconds left in regulation. Suddenly, a 3-0 series lead (then maybe a sweep?) and a guaranteed trip to the Eastern Conference Finals was on all of our minds. That came to a crashing halt though since Kyle Lowry (game-high 31 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) threw a perfect inbounds pass from one side of the court to the other to OG Anunoby (12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) and he hit a wide-open 3-pointer as time expired. If nothing else, at least now we have a series more befitting of these two clubs-not the first-round joke of a sweep against the Sixers. 

    Before Game 1, I don't think anybody expected a sweep or even a five-game series so perhaps this was long overdue after the Raptors didn't show up in the opener and then they fell short in Game 2. Toronto's stay in the bubble was basically on the line since no NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 deficit and they stepped up as you would expect from a defending champion. Along with Lowry, Fred VanVleet (25 points, 6 assists) played much better than he had in the first two games. Pascal Siakam (16 points, 7 rebounds) still hasn't made much of a difference so he's probably due to have a big performance at some point. Maybe his 14 points in the second half of Game 3 was a sign of things to come for him. Marc Gasol (10 points, 6 rebounds) remained in the starting lineup and he was better than Game 1 or 2 which isn't saying that much.

    This was Tatum's worst game of the postseason as he went 5-for-18 from the floor for 15 silent points. Jaylen Brown (19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks) played well until the final sequence where he got caught doubling Gasol in the lane thus leaving Anunoby by himself standing at the 3-point line. He was very frustrated after the loss which is completely understandable but I am confident that he will channel that energy into Game 4 on Saturday night (6:30, TNT). Tatum getting contained for one night wasn't surprising but the real lock of the century was Marcus Smart (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) going ice cold (4-for-15 overall, 2-for-9 on 3-pointers) after doing his best Steph Curry impression to start this series.

    Kemba dropped an amazing 17 points in the first quarter as Boston led 33-28. He hit his customary buzzer beating 3-pointer to cap off a stellar first half for the C's who were up 57-47 at halftime. Toronto fought back with a strong third quarter (29-23) and they squeaked by in the fourth quarter (28-23) to regain some life in this series. The bottom line was that the Celtics let this one slip away despite the Raptors hitting four more 3-pointers (13-9) than them. The C's hit seven more free throws (16-9), grabbed five more rebounds (44-39) and blocked two more shots (7-5).

    The players were allowed to have family members join them in the bubble before the second round of the playoffs so it'll be nice to get away from basketball for a bit before they get back to work. Game 4 will likely dictate if this will be a long series or not. If Toronto wins and ties the series at two games apiece, they start over and it becomes a best-of-3 series. Conversely, if Boston bounces back and takes it, that should be a wrap. Tatum was awful tonight and what are the odds that will happen again? Plus, it took a miracle finish for the Raptors to win so as frustrating as this was for the C's, I wouldn't sweat it too much. They are bound to play better on Saturday and I doubt that Lowry and VanVleet will combine for 56 points (or more) for the second game in a row.

       

        

    

      

Boston Outscored Toronto By 11 Points In The 4th Quarter To Take Game 2 By A Score Of 102-99

 

    The Celtics did not play well for much of Game 2 against the Raptors tonight in the Eastern Conference semifinals but led by Jayson Tatum (playoff career-high 34 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists), Marcus Smart (19 points including five 3-pointers in the 4th quarter) and Kemba Walker (17 points, 6 rebounds), they still managed to find a way to come out on top. Boston's 102-99 victory gives them a 2-0 lead in the series and in NBA history, teams that are up 2-0 in best-of-7 playoff series have gone on to win that series 93% of the time. 

    As expected, the Raptors were better than their no-show on Sunday in Game 1 but it still wasn't enough. OG Anunoby is a nice defender and role player but when he leads Toronto in scoring (like he did tonight with 20 points), that is great news for the C's. Fred VanVleet added 19 points and seven assists but he is still ice-cold on 3-pointers (3-for-12 this evening including his miss at the buzzer that would have sent it to overtime). Pascal Siakam (17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) is an All-Star for a reason but so far against Boston, he hasn't been much of a factor for the defending NBA champions. Kyle Lowry (16 points, 7 assists, 4 steals) also couldn't buy a 3-pointer (0-for-7 in Game 2). For the second straight game, Serge Ibaka (17 points, 9 rebounds) was one of the few bright spots for Toronto yet he once again didn't start but I guess that doesn't really matter since he logged six more minutes than the washed up Marc Gasol (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks). 

    Toronto's head coach Nick Nurse is starting to feel the pressure as he constantly worked the crooked refs and after another loss, he bitched to the media about all of Tatum's free throws (he went 14-of-14 from the line). You can sense the desperation, after all he's not stupid: he realizes that his team while very solid is still flawed with no real go-to scorer in crunch time. He also understands that Game 2 was a vital opportunity to tie the series. Instead, now they will be playing for their bubble lives on Thursday night (6:30, ESPN) since no team in the NBA has ever rallied from a 0-3 deficit in a playoff series.

    The Celts have Tatum which is their biggest advantage but they also possess a bunch of other guys that can go off at different times. Jaylen Brown (16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) has been relatively quiet so far in this series so he's due for a breakout performance at some point. Daniel Theis only scored three points but he still made his presence felt with nine rebounds and three blocks. Likewise, Robert Williams (11 points) continues to be an immediate spark off the bench for Boston.

    It was tied at 28 after the first quarter and the Celts had a slim two-point lead (50-48) at halftime. Toronto had their first really good quarter of the series in the third-outscoring the Celtics 30-20-but their double-digit advantage late in the frame wasn't enough to propel them to a win in the fourth quarter.

    Besides shooting better than Toronto both from the floor (they made 4 more 3-pointers than them) and hitting more free throws (23-16), the C's corralled three more rebounds (44-41) and blocked two more shots (9-7). Other than hoping and praying that VanVleet and Lowry heat up or that Siakam takes over, I'm not sure what Nurse's strategy will be to try and turn this series around in a hurry. Boston is a step above them in class and I believe that will continue to be proven for however long this lasts.