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After a complete drubbing in the series opener, the Toronto Raptors turned a corner to give the Boston Celtics a run for their money in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. But the latter forced a huge fourth-quarter turnaround to take the game 102-99 and extend the series lead to 2-0.
Jayson Tatum kept the offense flowing all night for the Boston Celtics and finished with another playoff career 34 points. Even though he could not get it done from the field all the time, he managed to get to the free-throw line a lot, going 14-of-14 from the charity stripe. Speaking of free-throws, the Toronto Raptors had none of them in the first half.
It was a pretty close game in the first two quarters with both teams playing hard-nosed defense as always. Fred VanVleet was back to his old scoring ways and gave the Toronto Raptors the needed lift with 9 first-quarter points.
Kemba Walker wasn't feeling it yet but 14 points from Jaylen Brown in the half kept the Boston Celtics in the hunt as they led 50-48 at half-time.
Toronto Raptors heat up in the third
The Toronto Raptors showed off their scoring depth quickly after the break as Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, and VanVleet all managed to drain a few buckets. However, it was OG Anunoby who punished the Boston Celtics with those corner threes and accumulated 11 points in the third quarter. We also had the classic Marcus Smart flop, which had fans seething.
Nick Nurse's side was in control heading into the fourth, leading 78-70.
Boston Celtics' backcourt leads them to a win
Until then, both Walker and Marcus Smart were struggling from the field for the Boston Celtics. Kemba had missed seven attempts from downtown while Smart was 0-for-5 from distance. Yet, the duo switched on a plug down the stretch, especially the latter who made five straight threes as Boston went on a 23-9 run to take the lead.
Walker also managed to drain a trey of his own and nailed the stepback dagger to give Boston Celtics the win. He finished the game with 17 points.
Smart was obviously on the receiving end of some huge praise. He had 19 on 6-of-13 shooting and those five threes really made the difference for the Boston Celtics tonight.
Pascal Siakam made some big plays in the fourth for the Toronto Raptors but with the game on the line, he committed a huge turnover to give Boston the advantage.
Jayson Tatum balled out again tonight against the Toronto Raptors and had 8 rebounds and 6 assists in addition to his 34 points.
Guess the Lakers players!
