Celtics fall in double OT, 125-122 – series tied 3-3

The Celtics have experienced the Toronto grind all season. They know that the defending champs, regardless of personnel changes, are one of the toughest outs in the NBA.

Toronto, led by a 33-point, six-trey barrage from Kyle Lowry, came back to tie the second round series at 3-3 due to Wednesday night’s 125-122 Celtics loss in double overtime. Game 7 is 9 p.m. Friday.

Wasted was a 31-point night from Jaylen Brown.

The Celtics opened the second overtime with a Jayson Tatum transition dunk after Brown poked the ball away from Pascal Siakam. Fred VanVleet then committed a backcourt violation under pressure from Kemba Walker, leading to a Daniel Theis dunk off a Tatum lob on the other end for a 110-106 lead.

Lowry drove to cut the Celtics lead to a basket. Though Theis rebounded a Tatum air ball, he had a called foul overturned on the play, and Toronto won the ensuing jump ball.

Smart was then fouled running into an OG Anunoby pick. Lowry stripped the ball from Brown, who also fouled Norman Powell down the other end. Powell tied the game with two free throws with 2:30 left.

Smart hit Theis for a backdoor dunk and a two-point lead, and Siakam answered from the baseline for another tie.

Smart and Powell exchanged 3-pointers, and Theis again broke the tie, this time dunking off a Walker feed.

But Anunoby gave the Raptors a 118-117 lead with a 3-pointer. The ball was stripped from Tatum, and Powell converted a three-point play with 38.8 seconds left for a 121-117 lead.

Tatum drove, cutting the Toronto lead to a basket, but Lowry buried an 18-foot fadeaway for a 123-119 lead and Toronto’s sixth straight make.

Tatum cut the margin to a point with a deep 3-pointer. Powell, fouled with five seconds left, hit twice. Smart’s wild 3-pointer missed with five-tenths of a second left.

The Celtics, after straining to get back into it in the fourth, took a 102-101 lead on a Theis lay-in off a Walker feed in overtime. Siakam missed, and Walker, with only his second basket of the night, hit from the line for a three-point lead with 2:10 left.

Toronto’s Norman Powell immediately tied the game with a corner three, and the next time down took the lead back with a pair of free throws with 1:34 left.

Tatum threw the ball away, and after empty possessions on both sides, Brown was fouled at the rim off a Marcus Smart inbounds lob. The Celtics guard hit twice for a 106-106 tie.

Powell missed an up-top 3-pointer to send the game into a second overtime.

Though the C’s ignited early in the fourth with a four-trey run, including two from Brown and a Tatum bomb that briefly gave the Celtics a one-point lead, they lost hold again quickly.

Though Tatum recovered from a slow start to make some big plays down the stretch as part of a 24-point performance, the Celtics were sorely hurt by a 1-for-8 performance from Walker.

Smart approached his Game 2 high of six 3-pointers Wednesday with five bombs for the bulk of his 20–point performance.

Smart’s strip of Siakam with 2:05 left in regulation and outlet pass to Theis for the dunk tied the game at 98-98. The Celtics struggled from there. Walker missed a five-footer, and after a Fred VanVleet miss, Tatum threw the ball out of bounds attempting to pass out of a drive. Siakam missed, the Celtics took possession with 17 seconds left, and Walker missed on another drive.

Toronto was awarded possession and a timeout after Anunoby grabbed the rebound and appeared to be tied up by Smart.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/35kOVCT