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Teammates attack Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby, second player from left, after Anunoby fired at the doorbell to win the game in the second half of an NBA conference semifinal basketball game against the Celtics from Boston on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Celtic’s Daniel Theis is behind. (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Faced with the absolute abyss, the Toronto Raptors are suddenly alive.
OG Anunoby caught an upfield cross pass from Kyle Lowry and hit a 3-pointer with no time remaining, and the Raptors beat the Boston Celtics 104-103 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday night.
Toronto cut Boston’s series lead to 2-1. The Celtics took a two-point lead when Kemba Walker found Daniel Theis for a dunk with half a second to play.
No team in NBA history has recovered from a 3-0 series deficit. The Raptors won’t have to try now; Lowry chose to listen and throw the long pass, high above 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall, to Anunoby.
Lowry played pretty much the entire way, finishing with 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Fred VanVleet scored 25 points, Pascal Siakam had 16 and Anunoby 12.
Walker scored 29 points for Boston, which lost for the first time in seven postseason games. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jayson Tatum finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Celtics.
Marc Gasol laid a layup with 5:57 left for a four-point lead; the Celtics responded with the next eight points, going 99-95 on a dunk by Brown with 3:02 remaining.
Lowry got a pair of layouts, both putting Toronto to two. The Raptors had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final half minute, VanVleet landed an acrobatic layup to fall with 21.5 seconds left and tie it at 101.
Theis scoring left Toronto in need of a miracle. Anunoby delivered.
“I had confidence in him,” Lowry said. “We will take that victory.”
Siakam was charged for his third foul on one count with 7:44 remaining at the half; Raptors coach Nick Nurse used his only challenge to protest, but the replay confirmed the decision, a great decision against Toronto.
When Siakam took a seat for the rest of the half, Toronto was down 38-37. The picture turned very gloomy very quickly without him on the ground.
The Raptors were outscored 19-10 in the 6:42 following halftime, and the Celtics stretched the lead to 57-47 at the half. Walker scored 17 points in the first quarter, culminating that period with a triple, and did it again to finish the second and give Boston what was then its biggest lead.
Lowry had been 0 of 5 from 3-point range in the game, and 1 of 17 in the series, before connecting from the left corner midway through the third, putting the Raptors 61-60.
Toronto would eventually lead by up to four in the third, but Boston regained the lead and took an 80-76 lead in the fourth.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Lowry sat for a 1:31 stretch of the first quarter. He came back late in that period and played the final 37 minutes, 29 seconds. … Nurse tied Dwane Casey for the franchise’s playoff win lead at 21.
Celtics: Walker’s 17 points in the first quarter were the best of his career for any postseason quarter. He had 14 for Charlotte in the fourth quarter against Miami on April 29, 2016. … Robert Williams’ first shot attempt of the night was blocked by Serge Ibaka with 8:19 remaining in the first half, significant because Williams had hit 10 of 10 in the series to that point.
RARE OPPORTUNITY
It’s rare for a team ranked third to sweep a team ranked second in a best of seven, and now it won’t happen in this series. There have only been two such cases in NBA history: Dallas over Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 Western semifinals and Philadelphia beating Milwaukee in the 1985 Eastern semifinals.
NASH NURSE
Nurse is friends with new Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash and had spoken to him quite late, but Nash didn’t reveal that he was in the mix for work. “It caught me off guard, that’s for sure,” Nurse said.
“He kept all of that to himself, close to his chest. … It’ll be great, man. He is one of the best players of all time ”. Nash’s hiring was announced Thursday morning. He is the second Canadian to become an NBA head coach, joining Jay Triano.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Game four is Saturday.
gsg
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