Celtics take 2-0 series lead with 102-99 win over Toronto

Some will say they had no right to this one, not after spraying the ball for 12 first half turnovers, falling into a 12-point hole by the second quarter, and, above all, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker shooting a combined 3-for-21 after three quarters.

Toronto was finally making shots. Surely this second round playoff series was headed for a 1-1 tie.

“There’s only one Marcus Smart. I’m gonna tell you that much now,” Walker offered in counterpoint.

There was no other way to explain the wail coming down from Toronto right now. The Celtics somehow walked out of this early mess with a 102-99 win for a 2-0 series edge. They have now beat the defending NBA champs three times since teams assembled in the bubble, including a seeding game.

“There’s only one,” Walker repeated. “A different beast. That dude is unbelievable. I say it all the time, man, he’s a monster. We love playing with that dude. His intensity is unmatched. He’s just really fun to be on the court with. I love the intensity he brings to the game. He just raises our level.”

And Tuesday night, Smart may have even raised his own. The Celtics were a better defensive team in the fourth quarter, and his finger and palmprints were all over that. But starting with an off-the-dribble 3-pointer with 10:59 left, he also rewrote the game offensively.

Said shot was the first of five 3-pointers hit by Smart over the next three minutes — the fifth topped, thanks to an OG Anunoby foul, with a free throw. The Celtics trailed, 78-70, at the start of the Celtics guard’s bombardment, and took an 86-85 lead on that three-point play.

Walker was asked if he wondered how the previously frosty Smart could suddenly heat up.

“Yes. Yes. I’m just like, just like, ‘woo.’ Like, we needed it. Bad,” said Walker. “And even he was struggling before that. And, out of nowhere. That’s just a will to win, man. That’s just a will to win. He has that. And he brings that to our team.”

He brought it, for one, to Walker.

The Celtics point guard was 2-for-14 — 0-for-7 from downtown — when with 7:10 left he ducked under Serge Ibaka with a finger roll. From that point to the end, he hit all four shots, including his first three of the night and a back-breaking step-back jumper with 41.6 seconds left for a 102-99 Celtics lead.

The Raptors began to unravel. Pascal Siakam stepped out of bounds and missed a layup attempt. Toronto’s only other shot was a Fred VanVleet heave at the buzzer.

“When you got your point guard setting the tone for you, it’s contagious and makes everybody else kind of be like, he’s the smallest guy on the court but he has one of the biggest hearts,” Smart said of Walker. “When you got a guy like that, you always want to be on his team so you always know you have a chance to win. When Kemba’s playing like that, we always feel like we have a chance.”

All that, and yet Jayson Tatum was once again the constant, with a performance that not only kept the Celtics alive during lean times, but set all sorts of personal playoff marks for the Celtics forward.

Jayson Tatum sets personal playoff highs for points, assists and made free throws: As in 34 points, six assists and a 14-for-14 free throw performance. No other player, on either side, attempted more than five. He’s been the dominant offensive player in a tough series against a strong defensive team.

“I thought he was different tonight than even in Game 1,” said Brad Stevens. “I thought he attacked quicker. When he caught the ball he went right to what he was trying to get to. That was a big part of him being able to score the ball tonight. Obviously he makes tough shots. But at the end of the day he’s a guy we know can get to his spots — know he can get his shots. The way defenses are guarding him, they’re getting up under him, so he’s gonna have to make those moves quick, and I thought he adjusted that well tonight.”

Timelord in new time zone

Robert Williams is now 10-for-10 over the first two games of this series, last night including a rare foul line jumper. The young backup center has added a dimension that the Celtics simply didn’t have before.”

“He’s the only reason we were in the game in the first quarter,” said Stevens. “I did not think we started well. I thought our first six minutes were sloppy and I didn’t think we got to our spots. I think the pace that Toronto was playing at was much different than our pace. But when he came in, he kinda changed it and made enough plays to get us into the quarter tied. He’s been great. But we’re going to keep rotating those guys. I came really close to putting Kanter in when we were down 12 because I know he can score and rebound but other guys are able to step up and everybody else just has to be ready. That rotating center spot has been good for us.”

Smart sells tough call

When Smart ran into Siakam while chasing Kyle Lowry on the break, he threw his forearm into the Toronto forward and pitched left into a heap. He sold it so well that he initially got the call, too, at least until video review revealed one of the great acting performances of the Orlando bubble.

But Smart was straight-faced to the end Tuesday night, and proud of himself for not berating the nearest referee.

“It was a fast break for them so I’m trying to get back and he stops and impedes my progress,” Smart said. “He gave me a little bump and I guess I hit him and I got the foul. It happens. For me and my teammates, I can’t allow that to really affect me. I’m trying to work on it. It’s something I’ve been working on. Probably in the past I probably would have gotten a tech, but I’m just at the point where my team needs me and I can’t do that to me or my teammates.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/31MWwYU