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Players of the Toronto Raptors celebrate after OG Anunoby #3 beats the buzzer in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the Field House in Orlando, Florida, September 3, 2020. /VCG
The Toronto Raptors edged over the Boston Celtics 104-103 thanks to a buzzer-beater by OG Anunoby, avoiding the fate of trailing 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
When Kemba Walker dribbled the ball to launch Boston's last attack, he already scored 29 points and went 4-7 from downtown. The game was 101-101. Walker faced Fred VanVleet; Marcus Smart came to set a screen for him, but Marc Gasol and VanVleet barely looked at him. Instead, the two tried to trap Walker. Walker still managed to break through the defense and moved towards the paint. Gasol followed him from behind; Kyle Lowry rushed to him. Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam, VanVleet, and Anunoby blocked Walker's passing to Smart Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum.
Daniel Theis #27 of the Boston Celtics dunks to help his team lead 103-101 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors at the Field House, September 3, 2020. /VCG
Walker moved towards the outside and pretended to try giving the ball to Smart, but instead, he found Daniel Theis, who's open under the rim – his defender Lowry rushed out to double team, Walker. Theis finished an east dunk to help Boston lead 103-101 when there was only o.5 second left.
Toronto called a timeout during which Boston altered their franchise for defense. Tacko Fall replaced Walker to challenge Toronto's throw-in with his 2.26-meter eight and 2.54-meter wingspan. Lowry stood at the line. Brown, Theis, Smart, and Tatum covered Siakam, Gasol, VanVleet, and Anunoby.
OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors beats the buzzer to help his team win Game 3 104-103 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the Field House, September 3, 2020. /VCG
After the referee blew the whistle, Gasol set a screen for VanVleet, who then drew attention from Theis and Tatum with his move. Gasol then set another screen for Siakam, but he did not catch the ball either. Only Smart noticed that Anunoby already moved from the left corner to the right corner and remained open there, but Tatum's attention was on VanVleet while Brown tried to follow Siakam.
Despite his 1.83-meter height, Lowry found Anunoby with a sideline-to-sideline pass, and Anunoby buried the third triple of his. 104-103, Toronto escaped by the skin of Boston's teeth and made the series 2-1 instead of 3-0 – no team has ever come back from a 3-0 trail.
"I expected to make it. I don't shoot trying to miss. … I wasn't surprised," said Anunoby after the game. "Give OG his flowers tonight," said Lowry.
Kyle Lowry (C) of the Toronto Raptors throws himself towards the rim in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the Field House, September 3, 2020. /VCG
Anunoby deserved the credit, of course, but it was Lowry who made that magical pass. "I was just waiting. Just waiting for the right moment, and I seen Jaylen Brown step up a little bit on Marc, and I just had to make a precise pass to a heck of a shooter in OG," said Lowry.
In fact, he did much more than "make a precise pass" in the game. Lowry dropped court-high 31 points and eight assists for Toronto. Lowry ceaselessly charged against the opponents' rim when the rest of the team continued to struggle against Boston's impregnable defense and went 10-13 in the paint. He made great contributions to keeping the game alive for Toronto.
Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors shoots the ball in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the Field House, September 3, 2020. /VCG
However, despite the excitement for the victory in Game 3, Toronto must face the uncomfortable fact that they were still the series's unfavorable side. They claimed this win by one point after Boston missed 20 of their 29 attempts from the 3-point line. Tatum was only 5-18 in field goals, but he won't always shoot like that. Moreover, Toronto still had no solution to Walker in defense.
Toronto have a bigger problem with their offense. VanVleet and Lowry, despite their excellent work in Game 3, cannot offer the defense-changing solution the team need – that's Siakam's job. Nonetheless, so far, the All-Star forward went in total 18-46 in all three games. His isolation efficiency was poor; he could punish Boston for leaving him open outside the arc; Boston did a remarkable job of shutting his favorite early offense down; moreover, Siakam often fell into foul because of offensive fouls.
Before Toronto could fix their problems, a miracle won't happen that often.
Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers shoots the ball in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida, September 3, 2020. /VCG
In the other game on Thursday, the Los Angeles Clippers pocketed an easy win over the Denver Nuggets 120-97 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Denver just finished a seven-game series against the Utah Jazz less than 48 hours ago, and most of their players had not recovered from the fatigue.
As a result, Denver could not follow the opponents' steps at all in defense, and the game was long gone in the second quarter. Game 2 will take place on Saturday, and Denver may be better-prepared then.
