Jayson Tatum is one of many St. Louis Cardinals fans mourning the death of Major League Baseball legend Lou Brock. The Cardinals announced Sunday that Brock had died at age 81. He was known as one of the best base-stealers of all time and was an icon in St. Louis, where Tatum grew up. So, […]
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Pays Tribute To Lou Brock With Game 5 Sneakers — NESN.com
It’s a best of three now. The Celtics were a half second away from taking a 3-0 stranglehold on the Raptors in Game 3. Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby said ‘Not just yet’ stealing Game 3 and a completely different looking Raptors unit took the floor for Game 4. This time there was no buzzer-beater […]
GANTER: Raptors have their swagger back now — Toronto Sun
It’s a best of three now.
The Celtics were a half second away from taking a 3-0 stranglehold on the Raptors in Game 3.
Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby said ‘Not just yet’ stealing Game 3 and a completely different looking Raptors unit took the floor for Game 4.
This time there was no buzzer-beater needed as the Raptors pulled away for a 100-93 win to even up the series.
The Raptors were the clear aggressors in this game continually building leads but to the Celtics credit continually having to re-establish those leads after the Celts response.
But there was a different look in Toronto from the very outset.
No one between games was willing to say the Raptor swagger was definitively back given how little of Game 3 they actually controlled but it’s a much safer statement following Game 4.
The three-point game, a staple of their offence was back led by that stellar backfourt of Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry who were a combined 9-for-20 from distance. Serge Ibaka off the bench was a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
Were it not for Pascal Siakam’s 2-for-13 from distance, the team average would have been other worldly.
HOW ABOUT SERGE
Ibaka really isn’t getting the credit he deserves in this series.
With Gasol not quite himself until about Game 3, it was Ibaka who was so important just to give the Raptors a chance in Game 2.
With Gasol looking more like himself in Game 3 and again in Game 4 (despite the foul trouble) Ibaka has ccontinued to play big minutes as Nurse’s first or second man off the bench.
Nurse has been talking up Ibaka’s shooting since the re-start began and for good reason. Ibaka has been averaging just under 16 points a game in the playoffs for the Raptors in just over 24 minutes.
“Serge plays like that, we’re always a better team,” Lowry said afterwards. “When our bigs played the way they did tonight — Marc (Gasol) hit a big shot for us, Serge does like he did tonight, it gives us a big lift.”
NOT CELTICS’ NIGHT
The Celtics have been so good through three games it was almost unbelievable watching them shooting makeable three after makeable three Saturday night and missing.
The Celtics were just 7-for-35 from three in the game with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, their two big gunners going a combined 3-for-17.
Obviously credit the Raptors defence but sometimes the ball just isn’t falling and it seemed like that was the case for a good portion of the night for
the Celtics, but Brown in particular.
The Raptors on the other hand hit 17 threes in the game and while they weren’t real happy about their mid-range game – “We shot like crap from two” was how Fred VanVleet put it, they had a decent night from behind the arc. Lowry still thinks they can be better overall.
“I still think we’re not close to where we could be shooting it at but we made some threes in a good stretch in the third quarter, made some big ones in the fourth,” Lowry said. “You know, the way they play defence is: they contest really, really hard, but we’ve just got to shoot the ball with confidence and continue to shoot the ball with confidence and keep getting better. If we get one of those games where we get really, really hot, it makes a big difference.”
STEVENS’ TAKE
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was rather adamant that the Celtics did carry a bit of a grudge into Saturday’s game after the way Game 3 ended.
“I don’t think there’s any question that we were (angry) and guys played exceptionally hard and did a lot of good things,” he said defending his team. “But the other team is out there, too. And they made it very tough on us. When you miss, as we know, it can kinda cascade on you, and that’s what happened tonight. We gotta handle that better. I was pretty encouraged at halftime. We were shooting awful and it was 49-49. But it’s part of it. Gotta play better, gotta shoot better, gotta feel better. Gotta be ready to go on Monday night.”
SIMMONS SUNDAY: Still waiting on that Ujiri extension, RaptorsWild Game 3 win has Raptors feeling and looking more like themselvesSIMMONS: Lowry takes your breath away in last second win for Raptors
QUICK HITS
Pre-game Stevens revealed injured forward/guard Gordon Hayward was due back on the NBA campus on Sunday at which point he will have to undergo a four-day quarantine. But as for a return, Stevens tamped down expectations. “He’s not going to play any time soon,” he said … The Miami Heat are a win away from sending the East’s No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks home from the bubble. News yesterday had Giannis Antetokounmpo questionable for Game 4 with an ankle sprain which makes things infinintely tougher for the Bucks who would be without their leading scorer and leading rebounder … Speaking of the Heat, and we only bring this to your attention to start stoking the fire in case the matchup eventually comes to pass. But long-time Heat beat writer Ira Winderman was asked in his daily exchange with readers who he thought the Heat would rather face in an Eastern Final should they eventually finish off the Bucks. Winderman who knows better than most not to mess with the basketball gods, began by reminding his reader the Heat had not yet qualified for the Conference Final. Only after that did he finally admit the Heat would probably prefer to see the Raptors who they handled better in the regular season than they fared against the Celtics. But don’t let that stop you from starting your Miami-doesn’t respect-Toronto file.
Kemba Walker said his lack of aggression was “unacceptable” after taking only nine shots in the Boston Celtics’ 100-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors in game 4. The series is now even at two. “I got to be more aggressive. I wasn’t aggressive enough. That’s unacceptable on my behalf, to be honest. There’s no way […]
Kemba Walker Says He’s ‘Got To Be More Aggressive’ After Taking Nine Shots In Game 4 Loss — Portal4News
Kemba Walker said his lack of aggression was “unacceptable” after taking only nine shots in the Boston Celtics’ 100-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors in game 4.
The series is now even at two.
“I got to be more aggressive. I wasn’t aggressive enough. That’s unacceptable on my behalf, to be honest. There’s no way I can just be taking nine shots. That’s unacceptable,” said Walker.
Walker finished the game with 15 points and 8 assists, while also going 1-for-6 from three.
Jaylen Brown, who shot 4-of-18 from the field, echoed Walker’s struggles.
“I just missed some open shots. I’m a good shooter. I’ve just got to make them. It’s make-or-break time, 2-2. The series is tied up. We didn’t play that well. I didn’t play that well. We got to bounce back and be ready to fight. That’s what it comes down to: fight. We have to be ready to fight for our lives next game and keep playing good basketball.”
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens believes the team has moved past their Game 3 loss and are ready to fight for the win in Game 4.
Stevens: Celtics have licked their wounds, prepared to compete — Celtics Wire
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has complete confidence in his team, even after their unexpected, last-second loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of their second-round series with the reigning NBA champs.
“We have a really competitive group; we have a really intrinsically motivated group,” explained the Celtics coach
“At the end of the day, in basketball, as long as there’s time on the clock anything can happen and we were on the unfortunate end of the tough loss last night.”
“So, you you lick your wounds; you’re feeling whatever emotions you’re feeling — and then you move on and you try your best. Do what you can to control what you can, to be the best you can. And for some people it’s putting a chip on that shoulder, is the way to go about it. For others, it’s just being able to focus a little bit more on the task at hand.”
“In that moment, everybody’s a little bit different in that, but at the end of the day, I love this group,” offered Stevens. “I love their competitive spirit.”
For Boston’s Theis, better overall play the remedy for Game 3 loss https://t.co/c3VCtIfKg1
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 5, 2020
In the Indiana native’s mind, there is zero doubt the Celtics will leave the floor after Game 4 having played their best basketball.
“They’re going to bring it; they’re going to give everything they have, and if we get beat, we get beat,” said Stevens. “The last night wasn’t the way we wanted it to end, but we’re looking forward to get a chance to compete again, because we like to compete.”
Compete they shall, with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 pm Eastern Time; a win here would almost certainly sew up the series for the Celtics, with only a handful of teams ever coming back from a 3-1 postseason deficit.
We’ll try not to think about what might happen next should the Raptors tie it up instead.
Thursday night’s 104-103 Raptors’ miracle win down in the Orlando Bubble is not one I will ever forget. First, take a look at the shot that kept the World Champions alive a little bit longer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!??!?! pic.twitter.com/9dfLglhKM5 — Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 4, 2020 Next, consider that while Jayson Tatum had 18-9-6 […]
Celtics and Raptors Play Pivotal Game Four on Saturday Night — The NBA Life
Jeff Zillgitt USA TODAY Published 11:37 PM EDT Sep 3, 2020 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The situation was bleak but not hopeless. The Toronto Raptors trailed the Boston Celtics by one point with 0.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter following Daniel Theis’ dunk. The Raptors were in a huddle during the timeout, and […]
Inside OG Anunoby’s game-winning 3 that saved Raptors’ season — Portal4News
Jeff Zillgitt
USA TODAY
Published 11:37 PM EDT Sep 3, 2020
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The situation was bleak but not hopeless. The Toronto Raptors trailed the Boston Celtics by one point with 0.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter following Daniel Theis’ dunk.
The Raptors were in a huddle during the timeout, and coach Nick Nurse designated Kyle Lowry to inbound the ball because “he has guts,” Nurse said, and designed a play with several options.
“Freddie (VanVleet) comes wheeling off there first, and Marc (Gasol) pins down for Pascal (Siakam), OG (Anunoby) clears out to the weak side, Marc tries to find an open area either at the rim or out, depending on how they played it,” Nurse said.
Anunoby was the fourth of four options. When Lowry got the ball from the referee to pass it in, he surveyed the court with Boston’s 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall guarding the pass.
In the actions Toronto created with Lowry looking for an open player, the Celtics lost track of Anunoby. Jayson Tatum and Theis focused on VanVleet. After Gasol set a screen for Siakam, he also set a screen on Jaylen Brown, leaving Anunoby open on the far side of the court.
With just enough time to catch and shoot, Anunoby did exactly that and drilled a corner 3, giving the Raptors a 104-103 victory in Game 3 on Thursday.
“Give OG his flowers tonight,” Lowry said.
Anunoby barely had a reaction as his teammates mobbed him.
“I don’t shoot trying to miss,” Anunoby said.
Said VanVleet: “I know he was excited. That’s just his nature. Being in those situations, sometimes you don’t know what to do. I don’t think he’s a guy who’s going to run around the court. That was true OG form right there to knock down the biggest shot of his life and act like nothing happened. The rest of us were more excited for him than he was for himself.”
The shot saved Toronto’s season. The Raptors were on the verge of a 3-0 deficit. Now, it’s a much more manageable 2-1 deficit, and they came back from a 2-0 hole in last season’s Eastern Conference finals against Milwaukee and won the series.
“It’s OG’s moment,” Lowry said. “That’s a great moment for that kid. I’m so happy and so proud of him. The pass meant nothing. The shot was everything. … He deserves every ounce of love and celebration that he’s going to get tonight. The kid works extremely hard. That’s his moment. Let him live in it, and I’ll ruin tomorrow when he watches film and I tell him what he messed up on.”
Anunoby finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and he helped keep the Raptors close in the first half when Lowry, Siakam and VanVleet continued with their offensive struggles. He had nine points and was Toronto’s second-leading scorer behind Lowry’s 15 in the first half.
Lowry wanted to deflect credit. But his cross-court pass was magnificent in its own right.
“There’s not a lot of times that you probably want a — let’s call him 6-foot-1 — guard taking the ball out of bounds in a late-game situation because you saw they tried to put size on him,” Nurse said.
First off, Lowry had Fall waving his long arms in front of him. To create a little extra space, Lowry backed off the sideline near Boston’s bench. He watched as players set the play in action with screens and movement, and he surveyed the defense.
He noticed Anunoby slipped unguarded to the corner on the opposite side of the court — about 55 feet away. Lowry had to launch the perfect pass — over Fall but not too much air under the ball so that a defender could get to Anunoby and disrupt the play.
“It was a beautiful pass,” VanVleet said. “We don’t give Kyle as much credit as you guys give him. We expect those things from him. So it’s not that amazing from our perspective. I’ve become accustomed to seeing him do those things on a nightly basis.”
The Raptors have struggled offensively in the series and had trouble shooting through the first 2½ quarters on Thursday. But they found just enough offense from Lowry (31 points), VanVleet (17 of his 25 points in the second half) and Siakam (14 of his 16 in the second half).
Their defense remained solid, holding Boston to 46 points in the second half.
Add one great pass and one clutch shot, and the series is a lot closer than it looked after the first 47 minutes, 59.5 seconds of Game 3.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.Tags:Basketball
Matt Eppers USA TODAY Published 1:10 AM EDT Sep 4, 2020 With their season on the line, the Toronto Raptors drew up a play that delivered when they needed it most. OG Anunoby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Raptors a 104-103 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their […]
Jaylen Brown: Celtics’ defense a ‘disgrace’ on Raptors’ game-winner — Portal4News
Matt Eppers
USA TODAY
Published 1:10 AM EDT Sep 4, 2020
With their season on the line, the Toronto Raptors drew up a play that delivered when they needed it most. OG Anunoby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Raptors a 104-103 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their second-round series Thursday night.
Anunoby caught a cross-court pass with 0.5 seconds left on the clock and got his shot off over the out-stretched hand of a leaping Jaylen Brown.
Brown tipped his cap to the Raptors afterwards for the slick play design. However, he lamented the Celtics’ defensive lapse that allowed Anunoby to get free and couldn’t hide his frustration.
“It’s a (expletive) disgrace at the end of the game,” Brown said. “That was just terrible. No way we should have lost that game. I take responsibility for that. Not just that play, but a lot of the plays before. It happens. It’s the NBA playoffs. Either you let them gain momentum or you come back and get ready to play next game.”
Brown and the Celtics could have taken a commanding 3-0 series lead and effectively ended the Raptors’ title defense. Instead, Toronto is back in the series down 2-1 with Game 4 on Saturday night.
“Just a miscommunication, the coverage that we were in,” Brown said of the final play. “That’s all that really is. They made a remarkable play at the end.”
Anunoby finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto. Kyle Lowry scored 31 points, and Fred VanVleet added 25.
Brown had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Boston. Kemba Walker had 29 points, and Jayson Tatum had 15.
The Raptors could use Gandalf right about now to turn the tide. Read More
RAPTORS BLOG: Toronto was right there despite so much going wrong and this series isn’t done yet — Toronto Sun
Or Kawhi Leonard. Or sweet-shooting guards Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet to bury some shots. And for Marcus Smart to remember that he’s a career 32% three-point shooter, and not Larry Bird.
pic.twitter.com/c4QUZTTlyp— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) September 2, 2020
Smart’s always been sneaky dangerous, despite his overall poor shooting numbers. Even in his third season, when he shot just 28% from deep, he nailed 42% of his corner three-point attempts and was fifth in the NBA in pull-up three-point percentage this regular season. The mechanics are there. He just needs the confidence of seeing an early one or two go down. Plus things are evening out after he missed nearly everything from deep in the first round against Philadelphia. As Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said when asked about parallels to Fred VanVleet’s playoffs last year (brutal against Philadelphia, all-world in the rally against Milwaukee and in the Finals): “I didn’t think of that but that’s a pretty good comparison,” Nurse said, calling Smart Boston’s “wild card.”
As Nurse said, Boston has a ton of firepower in Jayson Tatum (career playoff high and 14 free throw attempts), Kemba Walker (one of the NBA’s streakiest scorers, as he showed after stinking it up in the first half before erupting) and Jaylen Brown. You know you’ll get a lot from at least two of those guys each night, but if Smart is playing like Ray Allen on offence and Tony Allen on defence, well, you’re going to be in an awfully tough spot. Especially if Lowry misses all of his open shots (six, total) and VanVleet misses 5-of-14. In face, take away OG Anunoby’s strong game and the rest of the Raptors only hit 33% of their uncontested shot attempts.
There is going to be some reversion to the mean at some point when it comes to both Smart and Toronto’s guards. There just has to be. At some point Norman Powell probably contributes too, since he has all season.
Why individual plus/minus isn’t a great stat: The eye test said Boston’s Semi Ojeleye played awful, doing a bit of a Rodions Kurucs impression. The stats say he was a game-high plus-seven. That despite bricking his three shot attempts, all three-pointers.
We’ll end again with a shoutout to Jamal Murray (and Donovan Mitchell, who also had a spectacular series and nearly willed Utah back after an epically bad first half for the team). Murray didn’t put the Nuggets on his shoulders again for Game 7, Nikola Jokic stepped up for his fellow star, but he gutted through the pain caused by a collision with Joe Ingles and still managed to score 17 in a game that was a bit of a throwback to the mid-90s, when it comes to offensive crispness.
Murray’s numbers for the series were nothing short of ridiculous. Denver rallied from a 3-1 hole and he averaged 31.6 points, 6.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds per game and his shooting splits were .550/.533/.920. Shooting that well with a 3/1 turnover ratio is the type of next level stuff that should have Nuggets fans very happy, as well as supporters of Canadian basketball. In Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada has a starting backcourt that can compete with any country on the planet.
Denver needs to add some great defenders who can nail open shots around Jokic and Murray, who are below average on that end and they’ll be contenders.
In that epic series, Jamal Murray was 14-20 FG (7-9 3FG) with 6 assists and 0 turnovers in clutch situations (game within 5 in final 5:00).
He scored 36 points and assisted another 15 points in 20 minutes of clutch time.
As close to perfect as you can get. pic.twitter.com/oOiDVGFhhl— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) September 2, 2020
THREE STARS
1 — Marcus Smart
2 — Jayson Tatum
3 — OG Anunoby
Brown and Kanter were captured on video helping Fall learn how to swim on Monday at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Jaylen Brown, Enes Kanter helping Tacko Fall learn how to swim — The Rookie Wire
Cody Taylor August 31, 2020 5:37 pm00:00 of 01:48Volume 0%00:0301:48 Hide video
After posting a 112-94 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, some Boston Celtics players spent their day off on Monday in the pool for some fun and extra work.
Jaylen Brown and Enes Kanter were captured on video helping Tacko Fall to learn how to swim. The rookie has previously said in the past that he does not know how to swim and previously took part in lessons at the Boys & Girls Club in Boston.
Fall said he grew up near a beach in Senegal but never went to the water much. However, Fall has, like most players, participated in aquatic exercises, and given his 7-foot-5 frame, he can stand up in most pools so learning how to swim likely hasn’t been a priority.
Tacko Swim Class
Senegalese Phelps
pic.twitter.com/BjiwnF21ZB
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) August 31, 2020
The Celtics have often done several activities together during their time at the Walt Disney World Resort. The group has previously hit the golf course together and they have also taken bike rides around the bubble and other related things.
Toronto and Boston have been two of the hottest teams in the playoffs, coming off first-round sweeps of Brooklyn and Philadelphia, respectively, in the first round.
Tone of Raptors-Celtics matchup changes amid shooting unrest — Lowell Sun
The Boston Celtics will likely be without the services of Tremont Waters in Game 1 of their second-round series with the Toronto Raptors, who have upgraded Kyle Lowry to probable.
Kyle Lowry PROBABLE in Game 1 vs. Celtics; Hayward, Green, Waters OUT — Celtics Wire
The Toronto Raptors have officially listed starting point guard Kyle Lowry as probable for Sunday’s Game 1 of their second-round matchup with the Boston Celtics, but the short break created by the Milwaukee Bucks’ protest on Wednesday has actually made the Celtics’ health a little worse.
While it has moved the team a little closer to the dates wings Gordon Hayward and Javonte Green will potentially be available to return to action, both would be seen as extremely unlikely to make it back on the court during the time frame this series is expected to occur within.
In the interim, floor general Tremont Waters has added his name to the injured list with a left knee sprain, per Boston Sports Journal’s Brian Robb, while Lowry has been upgraded from “questionable” after the unexpected rest, according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez.
Raptors officially list Kyle Lowry (sprained ankle) as questionable for Game 1 against Celtics.
Tremont Waters (left knee sprain) joins Gordon Hayward and Javonte Green as Celtics ruled out for Game 1.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) August 29, 2020
Neither Waters nor Green were expected to play significant minutes in this series, even if their loss does ding some of Boston’s relatively thin bench; how Boston will play with Hayward out and Lowry available figures to be a much more critical theme in this series.
And we are less than a day away from finding out how it begins, with tip-off scheduled at 1 p.m. Eastern Time this Sunday, August 30th.
Sign In The Boston Celtics will return to the hardwood on the campus of Walt Disney World on Sunday for Game 1 of their second-round series against the Toronto Raptors. They will, however, be doing so without Gordon Hayward, Javonte Green and Tremont Waters. Hayward (ankle sprain) and Green (right knee surgery) are not surprising…
Celtics Injury Report: Gordon Hayward, Javonte Green Out Vs. Raptors — NESN.com
The Boston Celtics will return to the hardwood on the campus of Walt Disney World on Sunday for Game 1 of their second-round series against the Toronto Raptors.
They will, however, be doing so without Gordon Hayward, Javonte Green and Tremont Waters.
Hayward (ankle sprain) and Green (right knee surgery) are not surprising developments. Waters (left knee sprain) is the lone addition to the injury report. The rookie guard played in just 11 games this season for the Celtics.
#NEBHInjuryReport for Game 1 vs Toronto:
Javonte Green (right knee surgery) – OUT
Gordon Hayward (right ankle sprain) – OUT
Tremont Waters (left knee sprain) – OUT— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 29, 2020
The third-seeded Celtics and second-seeded Raptors will take the floor Sunday after the NBA postponed games Wednesday, Thursday and Friday due to issues of social injustice.
The league will return to play Saturday with three games each day this weekend.More: Celtics Return Sunday vs. Raptors For Game 1 Of Rescheduled NBA Playoff SeriesBoston Celtics
The view from left field 