Irving has 43 points, helps hand Toronto third straight loss
If it all plays out as so many would like, the Toronto Raptors -Boston Celtics playoff series could very well be a doozy.
There is much to happen between now and that possibility in June, but Friday’s delightfully tough contest in Boston should have fans drooling for more in the spring.
The Celtics ultimately prevailed 123-116 in overtime in a tight game that also spells the third straight loss for the Raptors, who began a four-game road trip that continues Saturday in Chicago.
Kawhi Leonard, who committed a turnover on the final Raptors possession of Wednesday’s loss to Detroit, missed a pull-up jumper at the fourth-quarter buzzer on Friday, sending the Raptors into their first overtime game of the season. The Celtics, who got a glittering 43-point performance from Kyrie Irving, scored the first five points of the overtime period to take control.
Leonard finished with 31 points to lead the Raptors, who have split two games this season with the Celtics.
In a season where scoring is up across the league and threepoint shooting is the order of the day, the game had the defensive intensity of a postseason game and there were far fewer open perimeter looks than usual. The Celtics are one of the top defensive teams in the league and use their physicality to set themselves apart from opponents. They gave the Raptors very little space to operate. Toronto was below average defensively early in the game and fell behind by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but once they started to match the Celtics push for push and shove for shove, the game got closer.
á Boards, man: Leonard had himself a night, no question, and nowhere was he more impressive than on the glass. He finished with 31 points, but his season-high 15 rebounds were huge. Another impressive and significant role? Leonard was the de facto point guard early in the fourth quarter, despite the fact both Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright were on the court at the same time as he was. á Another one bites the dust: OG Anunoby was having himself a bit of a game, too, and his defensive toughness was a necessary ingredient to what the Raptors wanted and needed to do. And then … he played only nine minutes before departing with a sprained wrist. Like everyone, he’s day-to-day.
á Fuller strength: The Raptors got Serge Ibaka back after he missed a game with a sore right knee, and Danny Green overcame a bad back caused by a thunderous Andre Drummond screen on Wednesday to play. But Norm Powell continues his weeks-long stint on the shelf thanks to a busted-up shoulder, and C.J. Miles sat out again with a hip/groin muscle situation. Miles is on the road trip and there’s hope that he’ll play by the middle of next week, in either Orlando or Atlanta, but nothing has been decided for certain. á Up next: A tough back-toback ends with a Saturday night game in Chicago. Who plays is a question. How much they play is another. So too is whether they get to the Windy City in time to have an hour or two on the town.