Despite some in the pundit class claiming the Toronto Raptors were “done” after an ugly Game 5 loss, the defending champs dug deep Wednesday night to claim a three-point, double-OT win.
Now the team is one win away against the Boston Celtics from reaching the Eastern Conference final for the second consecutive year.
We’ve rounded up some takes to give you a taste of how things look south of the border. Here’s a closer look at what both national U.S. media members and Celtics beat reporters are saying about the Raptors today.
After another wasted opportunity, Celtics need to deliver in Game 7 — Boston Globe
After flicking at how quickly the blood has turned bad in this series by calling the Raptors the Celtics’ “sudden archrivals from the North,” the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn continued tracking Toronto head coach Nick Nurse’s sideline decorum and noted how his team brought everything to the table in order to get the win:
Toronto coach Nick Nurse, who is rising to the Joe Torre and Pat Riley level of villainhood in Boston, once again complained after almost every call and resorted to screaming when Celtics players were holding the ball in front of the Toronto bench.
The Raptors were desperate and junked everything up to win this game, so they deserve credit for achieving their aim. The question is whether they have finally taken the life out of the Celtics. The Celtics again were the better team in the first half, then got punched in the face again in the third quarter, before waging a captivating battle for the final 22 minutes.
Toronto is the defending champion and it realizes it needs every ounce of energy and a couple of breaks to beat the Celtics four times. It has won three.
Raptors vs. Celtics Game 6: Highlights and analysis — ESPN’s Get Up
In a conversation with Mike Greenberg, former NBA player Tim Legler praised the Raptors’ ability to get baskets when they absolutely needed them:
“First, that was a top-three game in the league this year for me — I didn’t want it to end … For me, what stood out was the big-shot making of the Raptors. I thought that Boston won that game half a dozen different times, (but) there were I think four occasions in either of the overtimes where Toronto had the ball down three or more points, and … twice they hit a three, twice they hit a two-point basket. I think if they miss on any of those possessions, there’s a good chance Boston goes up five or six and we’re not even talking about this right now because the Celtics are moving on.”
Kyle Lowry proves he’s the clutch playoff scorer Toronto needs with Kawhi Leonard gone — CBS Sports
CBS Sports’ Colin Ward-Henninger gave some much-deserved love to Kyle Lowry for filling the Kawhi-sized hole in the Raptors’ crunch-time attack last night:
When Kawhi Leonard chose to join the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, it appeared the Toronto Raptors’ championship window had been slammed shut as quickly as it had been opened. When the Raptors, behind coach Nick Nurse and significant improvement from Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell, finished the segmented regular season with the league’s second-best winning percentage — ahead of Leonard’s Clippers and LeBron James — it did little to dissuade the concerned rumblings about their chances of repeating.
Sure, they’re a great regular-season team, the thinking went, but who’s going to replace Kawhi as the clutch bucket-getter every championship team needs? Would it be Siakam? Maybe VanVleet?
After his spectacular performance in the Raptors’ 125-122 Game 6 double-overtime win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, Kyle Lowry has emphatically announced that he’s the closer Toronto was looking for, and he was right under our noses the whole time. While putting up 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists and just one turnover in 53 (!) minutes, Lowry grappled the Raptors to a Game 7 to keep the quest to repeat alive for at least one more game.
Stephen A. admits to sleeping on the Raptors, ‘stunned’ the Celtics allowed a Game 7 — ESPN’s First Take
Remember above when I said some in the pundit class had declared the Raptors “done”? That was Stephen A. Smith. But he went on First Take this morning and willingly ate a little crow:
“I gotta throw a mea culpa out here, Max Kellerman — this is the second year in a row I have slept on the Toronto Raptors. I thought this series would be over by now. Originally I started out by picking Boston in 7, then when they went up 2-0 … I thought this series was over. I certainly did not think it would get to a Game 7. I am stunned that it is at this point. I gotta give major, major props to Kyle Lowry, who was the MVP last night. He put forth an absolutely sensational performance. He deserves all the credit in the world. Norman Powell deserves some love as well. OG Anunoby hitting that big-time three in overtime — that definitely deserves some kudos. But when I think about the Boston Celtics, I gotta give Nick Nurse a boatload of credit.”
The Raptors have been counted out before, but they’re still here — ESPN.com
In a piece that covers everything from the Raptors’ unique makeup to their rare level of continuity in today’s age of player movement, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps compared them to the 1995 Houston Rockets, the team that coined the term, “Never underestimate the heart of a champion”:
The Raptors were counted out multiple times this season, most recently after being blown out by Boston in Game 5, but they’re used to that. Before Leonard arrived, their postseason reputation was a team that always lost Game 1 and was tormented by LeBron James. Last year, with James no longer in the East, the Raptors found themselves trailing both in the second round against the 76ers and in the conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, before rallying to win those series and dethrone the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
Now, a year after becoming the first team from outside the United States to win an NBA title, the Raptors are trying to make history again, as only the second team ever to overcome a 2-0 deficit in consecutive postseasons — joining those 1995 Rockets, who used their comeback in the second round as a springboard to a second consecutive title.
Kendrick Perkins Watch
After a night when multiple NBA stars chimed in on Twitter to give the Raptors — and particularly Lowry — their due, we go again to Kendrick Perkins, who has been one of Toronto’s most vocal supporters despite having played a good chunk of his career with Boston:
