The Toronto Raptors forced a game seven in a bubble classic, beating the Boston Celtics in double overtime.
Somehow, the Toronto Raptors found a way to win game six in a double-overtime slugfest, beating the Boston Celtics by a score of 125-122. In the best game of the playoffs, the Cs just couldn’t seem to put the defending champs away, and, in turn, there will now be a game seven Friday night.
After such a dominant performance in game five, this followup result was quite upsetting, regardless of how epic it may have been.
In the last minute of the game, Jayson Tatum drove to the basket and kicked the ball out to the corner for Daniel Theis. Instead, Raptors coach Nick Nurse was standing on the corner of the court confusing Tatum, as out of the corner of his eye he mixed up the two.
After the game, Jaylen Brown made an interesting comment on Nurse’s coaching and attitude, as he said, “grown men should be able to control themselves. Especially the coaches and coaching staff.”
After forcing a miss on the other end from Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker was lining up to take the last shot of the game. With four seconds left, he drove to the basket and put up a contested layup — a layup that he got fouled on, yet no call was made.
Both Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby made contact with Kemba as he was going up for the shot, but the referees’ whistles were swallowed.
Anunoby got the rebound, and the referees granted them an immediate timeout despite there being a scuffle for the ball, as Marcus Smart was attempting to get a jump ball call.
Even though the Raptors didn’t do anything on the other end, this sequence of events, if called correctly, should’ve put the Boston Celtics in the driver’s seat to win the game. Unfortunately, that’s not how it turned out, and the Raptors simply made more shots down the stretch.
In the second overtime, both teams started to find an offensive groove.
Toronto was finding open men off the pick and pop from three, as the Boston Celtics’ defenders were exhausted, while the shamrocks relied on penetration and great passing from their ball handlers.
Marcus Smart found Daniel Theis for a series of lobs in the final period, as he finished with a triple-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Playing 50 minutes, the Swiss Army man often looked like the freshest player on the court, still keeping up the same intensity that he brings night in and night out.
In the end, the Raptors forced one too many turnovers, and Norman Powell had a crucial and-one with 30 seconds left to take a two-possession lead.
Despite Tatum hitting a contested three to bring the game within one, Boston couldn’t tie the game at the buzzer, losing in crushing defeat.
As for the starters on the Boston Celtics, they all played over 47 minutes with Walker logging 52. However, the All-Star had his worst game of the playoffs, only scoring five points while going 2-11 from the floor.
He did rack up seven assists, however, as he was the main ball-handler against the zone defense from Toronto, finding open shooters on the perimeter. Unfortunately, in the end, the Cs needed more shot creation from their franchise point guard. On defense, he tried his best but was often abused on switches against Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet.
Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 31 points on a whopping 30 shots, sinking 11 of them. Along with that, he grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, showing off his athleticism and vertical in the later stages of the game.
He found himself open the most out of any Celtic as the defenders often over-helped on the likes of Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum. Because of that, Brown took an absurd amount of shots.
He wasn’t the most efficient, and probably could’ve attacked the rim a bit more, but it wasn’t a bad game by any stretch.
Jayson Tatum started off the game cold, going 1-7 from the field and 3-6 from the line.
However, he found his stroke later on, ending the game 9-21 with 29 points, 14 rebounds, and a career-high 9 assists. Tatum’s improvements as a playmaker and ball-handler for others, just in the bubble and the playoffs, has been something to behold.
He’s showing better vision than he’s ever showcased in his young career, and has officially taken the next step to stardom. He now makes his teammates better, as he doesn’t simply create for himself.
Daniel Theis had an extraordinary game as well, scoring 18 points on 9-11 shooting. He did his most damage in the overtimes, catching surprising lobs on the weak side to finish alley-oops.
Defensively, he had trouble staying on the floor when the Raptors went small. Coach Nick Nurse went to a unit with Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby in the frontcourt, forcing Theis to guard one of the two.
Fortunately for the Cs, Siakam had a terrible night once again, only scoring 12 points on 5-19 shooting in 54 minutes. If this adjustment from Nurse continues to game seven, look for Stevens to counter with more minutes for Grant Williams.
For our enemies up north, Kyle Lowry showed up clutch when it mattered most, solidifying his case as the best Raptor of all time.
Going 12-20 from the floor and 6-10 from downtown, Lowry was the main offense for Toronto down the stretch.
He took advantage of Kemba in the post, scoring the game-winner with 11 seconds left in double overtime. Too often, the Celtics found themselves with Smart guarding someone else other than Lowry due to a switch, and we all know how that went.
Both teams shot extremely well from distance, especially late as they both finished over 40 percent from downtown.
The Boston Celtics played a great game of team basketball, recording a total of 32 assists, but it simply wasn’t enough.
We can blame the refs or Nick Nurse, but here’s the fact of the matter: Game seven will officially commence Friday night.
Let’s go!