If the Toronto Raptors had fallen — and it seemed like their championship reign and maybe even this golden era was down to milliseconds — they were going down the way they climbed: fighting, pushing, clawing at anything that moves, refusing to accept what seemed inevitable.
At some point it wasn’t going to be enough. Talent eventually wins and it appeared this was the time.
Trailing by four with 35 seconds left and on the verge of going down 3-0 in their second-round series against the Boston Celtics — a deficit that has never been overcome in NBA history — it appeared Toronto, the team that dared to dream bigger than they had a right to, was about to get dragged out of bed and crash to the floor.
The Raptors didn’t go down. They can dream on.
They laid everything on the line in a finish as improbable as has ever gone down in their 26 years, outlasting Boston, 104-103, on the strength of a three-pointer from OG Anunoby as time expired.
It was the finisher on a remarkable flurry in the final seconds, after Toronto tied the game on a twisting left-handed lay-up from Fred VanVleet and fell behind again, when Celtics guard Kemba Walker – dominant all night – brilliantly created an uncontested dunk for Daniel Thies with less than a second on the clock that seemed to rob the Raptors of time and their souls.
Instead, Kyle Lowry somehow threw a two-handed inbound pass over 7-foot-5 Celtics centre Tacko Fall – subbed into the game just to obstruct Lowry’s passing lanes – right on the money to Anunoby, who got off his third triple of the night, silencing the artificial Celtics fans who looked on from the bubble in disbelief.
The Raptors now trail 2-1 in the series and can head into Game 4 on Saturday with a sense of purpose and hope, only seconds from being down 3-0 and possibly thinking that leaving Florida after nine weeks would be a decent consolation prize.
Go down fighting? Lowry played 47 minutes and VanVleet played 41, including the entire second half. They came into the series struggling offensively and combined for 56 points. Pascal Siakam was staring into the abyss, his confidence shot, and yet he found a way to score 14 of his 16 points in the second half, playing all 24 minutes in his best stretch of the series by a mile.
It’s a win that should never have happened. But if this version of the Raptors has a trademark, it’s that they don’t pay attention to what can or should happen. It’s how they came back against the Bucks while down 2-0 a year ago. It’s how they put together a better regular season after Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green left in free agency. It’s how a rotation cobbled together out of late first-round picks, second-round picks and undrafted free agents believes they can repeat as NBA champions.
All those traits were on display in the second half as Toronto was like the hero in an action movie, fingers on the edge, feet dangling, wind howling, villain staring down unmercifully and yet somehow pulled themselves up to fight once more.
The Raptors went for it in the third quarter, trailing by 10 with their season and their championship reign teetering.
They were the ferocious, determined, savvy defenders they’ve been all year and were able to disrupt Boston with long stretches of an active zone defense that held the Celtics scoreless for over three minutes. The problem was that Toronto couldn’t get the ball to go in, scoring only seven points themselves – a theme in the series.
The Raptors kept with it and finally took a 68-66 lead with a three-pointer from Siakam, who’d been 1-of-10 in the series to that point. But it was fair to wonder if Toronto could sustain the effort, as Nurse played all of his starters (aside from Gasol) all 12 minutes in the quarter. Boston surged back and led 80-76 to start the fourth, after Brad Wannamaker scored a three-point play while his knee hit Lowry in the groin (as Lowry was jumping straight up at the rim). Lowry collapsed in pain but received no sympathy from the referees, who stuck to their call after video review.
Before the game – for all the speculation about lineups, matchups and tactics – it was pretty simple to zero in on the major difference between the two teams, ranked second and third in the East, respectively. Boston had knocked down 32 triples on 77 attempts (41.6 per cent) while Toronto was just 21-of-80 (26.3 per cent).
“I think our readiness and prep to shoot’s gotta get better,” Nurse said before the game. “I think just kind of in general the looks that Fred got were pretty good. He got a lot of pretty good ones. I didn’t think Kyle has gotten great looks, so I’ve gotta do a better job of getting him some cleaner looks, for sure.”
On the season, Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry contributed just over five threes per game for the Raptors on 37 per cent shooting. For the series, they’ve made six triples total on 35 attempts for a gruesome 17.1 per cent. VanVleet was 5-of-23 heading into Game 3, while Lowry was 1-of-12.
But the Celtics have defended the three-point line well all year, allowing teams to convert only 34 per cent (second in the NBA).
“We just try to close out as hard as we can and try to be there on catches as much as we can, but it’s easier said than done,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said. “You know I think they’ve missed a few open ones, but hopefully we’ve guarded hard enough that those open ones just don’t feel as comfortable as normal if you are there.
“… And, still, in this league guys still make tough ones, but that’s all we’re trying to do. Obviously, there’s some schemes and things that you try to be good at throughout the year because you know the value of the lay up and the three.”
With their three-point shooting having temporarily abandoned them, the Raptors were making a point to get in the paint from the start in Game 3, with Lowry using his body as a hammer to break through with considerable success. He had two old-fashioned three-point plays before the game was four minutes old and was successful in getting Marc Gasol – missing in action for the series to this point – a couple of baskets at the rim in the early going.
The Raptors were still struggling to shoot – they finished the first quarter shooting only 2-of-9 from deep – but were still able to get off to a strong start thanks to a heavy dose of points in the paint.
Raptors Newsletter
The Raptors did an effective job on Celtics star Jayson Tatum, too, holding the Game 2 hero to just one field goal on six shots. But the Celtics have more than one weapon and Walker picked up where he left off after an 11-point fourth quarter in Game 2, putting up a quick 17 points on six shots in the first quarter. That wasn’t a good sign for Toronto, given the Celtics hadn’t trailed after the first quarter in any of their six wins (in seven starts) against Toronto this year.
Things looked bleakest midway through the second quarter when the Celtics easily put together a quick 9-0 run that seemed to emphasize their edge in speed and quickness. Jaylen Brown, Walker and Tatum were each easily making plays for themselves or others.
Down 10, the Raptors clawed back, helped in big measure by a pair of welcome threes from VanVleet, to cut Boston’s lead to five. But the Celtics got two quick scores in the final seconds, including a buzzer-beating three from Walker to head into the half up 57-47 and appearing to be in complete control.
And they were, for the most part, right until the final half-second, when the Raptors happened. The Celtics remain in control on paper, but the Raptors remain alive and they look very determined to keep their reign alive — to end it on their terms.
They aren’t ready to let go yet.
