Raptors’ skid hits three after overtime loss to Celtics
BOSTON Playoff intensity made an early appearance as Toronto and Boston played a knock ’em down, drag ’em out overtime thriller on Friday night.
The Celtics prevailed 123-116 thanks to a stunning display of offensive brilliance by Kyrie Irving, who finished with 43 points and 11 assists and because Kawhi Leonard missed an isolation jump shot at the end of regulation.
Superstars Irving and Leonard went toe-to-toe in a thrilling fourth quarter, with Irving whirling his way to a series of tough layups and jumpers, Leonard bulling to the rim and providing stout defence. Leonard finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds in 43 minutes, his Raptors high.
Already down some players, Toronto lost OG Anunoby for the second half due to a wrist injury, Danny Green and Pascal Siakam to fouls and should be in rough shape for Saturday’s game in Chicago, with Leonard surely a no-go for the back-to-back closer.
Toronto has now lost three straight games for the first time since February 2017 and the home team has prevailed in each of the previous nine meetings between the Raptors and Celtics.
Toronto shot just 8-for-29 (27.6 per cent) from beyond the threepoint line.
Jayson Tatum had 21 for Boston and Gordon Hayward added 15. Serge Ibaka had 21 for Toronto and Siakam 16. Kyle Lowry shot just 3-for-12 from the field.
MUTUAL RESPECT SOCIETY
The Celtics and Raptors are widely regarded as the two best teams in the East and it’s clear the head coaches of both sides are mutual admirers.
Brad Stevens had high praise for Nick Nurse and for Leonard, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, in particular in his pre-game availability.
Stevens noted Toronto’s “super athletes” who are long and versatile and added, “this is a heck of a team.”
Nurse said he was looking forward to an early November game filled with some buzz
“Sometimes (it’s) the monotony of just going out and playing another game, but this isn’t, really,” Nurse said.
“The specialness of playing this very, very well-coached team and a team that has won a lot of games and playing on (ESPN) and playing on the road in front of an electric crowd, we should have a pep in our step and we need one tonight.”
MOUTHY MORRIS
When the Raptors beat the Celtics earlier this season in Toronto, Boston’s Marcus Morris was not impressed.
When asked whether Toronto was a better team than the Celtics, Morris told reporters, a flat “no,” before expounding on the matter.
“We’re way more talented than those guys. I think they just played together a little bit more.”
Morris said after Leonard and Kyle Lowry, Boston’s depth was better, indicating that Toronto’s depth players compete hard, but aren’t as naturally gifted as Boston’s lineup.
On Friday, Toronto only had 10 points from its bench, five by Jonas Valanciunas, five by OG Anunoby, at halftime. Boston had 17, 11 of them from Morris.
WOE IS FRED
Fred VanVleet has not been in his sixth-man-of-the-year finalist form of a year ago so far.
His shooting is way down (.382 from the field with a .469 true shooting percentage vs. .426 and .556 in 2017-18, just 29.5 per cent from beyond the three-point arc) and his usually stout defence hasn’t been at the same level.
Nurse has a simple explanation: “He’s probably not 100 per cent healthy,” Nurse said on Friday morning (VanVleet has battled a variety of ailments).
“He’s not getting the ball where he normally gets it to. He’s affected by that. But there’s nobody tougher. He’s gonna be out there playing, battling and scrapping. We’ll … hopefully try to get through these two games and then try to rest him a little bit until we get to the next part of our road trip (another backto-back on Tuesday).”