- The Boston Celtics beat Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the Eastern semis, 92-87.
- Toronto had the chance to come back in the last 60 seconds, but the Celtics’ defense stopped the champs.
- Boston faces Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
Smart’s Block Decides the Game
Marcus Smart blocked Norman Powell with 58 seconds to go, not allowing the Raptors guard to level the score at 89-89. Kyle Lowry made a foul on the other end, his sixth, and the All-Star point guard had to leave the game.
Grant Williams missed both free-throw attempts, but Jayson Tatum had an offensive rebound, and while grabbing the ball, Powell fouled him.
Boston’s best player made the first free throw, missing the second, and Toronto had a chance to force overtime with a three-pointer. Fred VanVleet took the responsibility, but his shot was under pressure, and the guard missed the entire rim. Kemba Walker would make both free throws on the other end to close this series and secure Boston’s progress to the conference finals.
“Man, it was a tough game to lose,” Lowry said. “But they won. Tip your hats to them. They have a chance to go on and play against Miami and get to the championship.”
The Celtics were ahead most of the time, but the Raptors were close, not allowing Brad Stevens’ side to pull away or make some noticeable run. The only time Boston had a serious lead was during the first period, 19-7, but the champs made a 15-2 run to erase it until the end of the same.
After that, Toronto had a 40-33 edge, but 11 unanswered points of the rivals quickly changed the situation on the floor. From that moment on, Boston never looked back, even though the Raptors constantly pressured them. Both teams played tough defense, which is obvious when looking at the number of points in the end.
Jayson Tatum was the best player on the floor, with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Jaylen Brown added 21 points, with 8 rebounds and four steals.
Marcus Smart, whose defense helped a lot today, scored 16 points, had six assists and three steals. Kemba Walker ended the game with 14 ad six rebounds.
Among the Raptors, VanVleet had the most points, 20, assisting six times to his teammates. Lowry scored 16 and had six rebounds with four assists, while Serge Ibaka added 14 off the bench, with 8 boards. Norman Powell stopped at 11 buckets.
Pascal Siakam disappointed once again, with 13 points. He did collect 11 boards and three assists, but the offensive contribution was pretty poor.
“I have to be better,” Siakam said. “It was definitely a learning moment for me, …I wasn’t able to really help my teammates, so, yeah, I take a lot of the blame.
Unexpected Finals
With Boston being almost a regular in the conference finals recently, with three participations in the last four years, just a few considered Miami as a potential candidate to win the East.
The Heat eliminated both Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks pretty easily, not having as near problems as Boston during their playoff run.
Once again, the theory about the Western conference being much more interesting than the East was beaten down.
Game 1 of the East finals is this Tuesday.
