- The Toronto Raptors decreased the deficit in the series against the Boston Celtics to 1-2.
- OG Anunoby scored a buzzer-beating three to hand the champions a 104-103 win.
- Celtics had a 10-point lead at the halftime.
Anunoby Saves the Raptors
Nick Nurse’s team was in a pretty tough situation with half a second before the end of this match. Boston had a two-point edge, following Daniel Theis’ dunk, 103-101. Kyle Lowry was about to make an inbound pass with Tacko Fall ahead of him, and that too wasn’t very comfortable.
However, he managed to find OG Anunoby, with the ball somehow passing by the 7-foot-5 center, traveling across the court, before being sunk into the basket by Toronto’s center. After that came the delirium on the court.
“Really, really happy for him, he played his tail off, man,” Nurse said. “Nice that he gets big reward for it because he played so hard all over the court.”
It was Anunoby’s third three-pointer of the game, and only the 12th point, but according to his words, he didn’t have any doubts about the shot going in.
“I expected to make it,” he said. “I don’t shoot trying to miss, I wasn’t surprised.”
Following the game-winner, Raptors’ players rushed into the court, and all of them mobbed the hero and the guy who saved them from a 0-3 deficit, which would be a catastrophe in the current circumstances.
Boston Loses a 10-Point Lead
It was 57-47 for Brad Stevens’ team at the halftime, and at that point, they were pretty confident, cruising towards another win in this series. However, during the middle of the third, a 7-0 run of the Canadians, with Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry delivering points, brought back the Raptors. After that, we saw a tight fight, with both sides exchanging hits all the way up until the end.
In a very rough finish, the Celtics had a two-possession advantage twice, and it seemed that they keep the match under control. Again, Lowry and VanVleet were the ones who got the Raptors back into the game, and Anunoby delivered a knockout.
“It hurts and stings to lose,” Brad Stevens said. “But, we’ll just get back to it and get ready for Saturday.”
Lowry had 31 points, in 46 minutes, both game-high. The All-Star point guard also added 8 assists, six boards, and two steals. Meanwhile, FVV made five threes in 13 shots, for 25 points, six dimes, and three boards.
Pascal Siakam ended the night with 16 buckets and seven rebounds, while Gasol had 10 with six rebs. Anunoby added 10 boards as well.
On the other side, we saw Kemba Walker leading the way with 29 points and three boards, dimes and steals. Jaylen Brown was the next in line with a double-double of 19 points and 12 boards. Jayson Tatum had just 15 in this match, shooting 5-for-18 from the field and collecting 9 rebounds and six assists. Marcus Smart scored 11, and Theis 9.
Game 4 of this exciting matchup is set for Saturday.
