NBA playoffs: Raptors defeat Celtics to tie series at two games apiece
Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Lowry added 22 points and 11 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors evened the Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece, beating the Boston Celtics 100-93 on Saturday.
Two days after winning Game 3 on OG Anunoby’s three-pointer as time expired, the Raptors didn’t need any big shots. Instead, they just put together long stretches of stops, shutting down most of Boston’s perimeter shooters and Jaylen Brown in particular.
Serge Ibaka had 18 points off the bench on seven-for-nine shooting, and Fred VanVleet finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists.
“I think we can always get to another level,” Siakam said. “I feel like we can always do that and obviously everyone clicking at the right time, and once we have that we’re a pretty special team.”
Key plays from the Toronto Raptors’ 100-93 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. They won their first six postseason games before dropping the last two. Kemba Walker had 15 points and eight assists.
The Celtics were seven for 35 (20%) from three-point range. Brown missed his first nine attempts behind the arc and finished two for 11, and he was four for 18 overall from the field. Tatum, Walker and Marcus Smart were all one for six on three-pointers.
“Obviously, we didn’t play that well, I didn’t play that well,” Brown said. “We’ve got to bounce back and be ready to fight. That’s what it comes down to.”
The Houston Rockets used a 16-3 run to start the fourth quarter against a new Lakers lineup to help secure the Game 1 win.
The Raptors got their own shooting on track late in the third quarter to open the first sizable lead by either team, and Boston couldn’t hit nearly enough shots to put much of a dent in it.
The Celtics were a half-second from taking a 3-0 lead, from which no NBA team has recovered, after Daniel Theis’ basket gave them a two-point lead Thursday. But Anunoby’s three got the defending NBA champions, who overcame a 2-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals last season, on the way to what they hope will be a similar recovery.
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