OG for 3: Anunoby beats buzzer, lifts Raptors
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Toronto Raptors were a half-second away from falling into the abyss that no NBA team has escaped. Down by two points, down by two games, the reigning champions needed a miracle. OG Anunoby delivered. Anunoby caught a crosscourt pass that Kyle Lowry threaded over everyone else on the floor and hit a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Raptors a 104-103 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Thursday.
The Celtics still lead the series 2-1. But it’s not 3-0 — and that means Toronto has hope. The Raptors mobbed Anunoby after the shot, reveling in the moment.
“Someone hit me in the nose,” Anunoby said. “It’s cool.”
The Celtics took a two-point lead when Kemba Walker found Daniel Theis for a dunk with a half-second left.
No NBA team has rallied
from a 3-0 series deficit. The Raptors won’t have to try it now; Lowry elected to audible and throw the long pass — threading it over 7-foot-5-inch Boston center Tacko Fall, who was put in specifically to disrupt the inbounds play — to Anunoby.
“The pass was nothing,” Lowry said. “OG made the shot. All the credit goes to the shot, man. That’s a tough shot.
Give OG that credit. The pass was just to get it to a guy like OG. It’s OG’S moment, man. That’s a great moment for that kid.”
Lowry played virtually the whole way, totaling 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Fred Vanvleet scored 25 points, Pascal Siakam 16 and Anunoby 12.
Walker scored 29 points for Boston, which lost for the first time in seven playoff games. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jayson Tatum 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Celtics.
“It hurts and stings to lose,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “But we’ll just get back to it and get ready for Saturday.”
Marc Gasol made a layup with 5:57 left for a four-point lead; the Celtics responded with the next eight points, going up 99-95 on a dunk by Brown with 3:02 to go.
■ Clippers 120, Nuggets
97: Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points for Los Angeles, which shot 57 percent and held Denver to 42 percent while taking a 1-0 lead in the West semifinal series.
Paul George scored 19 points and Marcus Morris 18 for the Clippers, who held the Nuggets to 25-percent shooting in the second quarter and led 69-51 at intermission.
Jamal Murray, who averaged 31.6 points in Denver’s seven-game series against Utah, mustered 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 15 points.