What a spirit these Raptors have. Kyle Lowry warned before the sixth game that they were playing for their lives, and they proved it. The Canadians were able to recover from Boston’s good start and from the fact of starting behind in both overtime periods to end up winning 125-122. Exactly, there will be a seventh game between Raptors and Celtics.
Lowry, accused years ago of erasing himself or being diluted in the great moments, made it clear last night that it is the heart for which Toronto beats. Disputing 53 minutes (the maximum was 58) the All-Star point guard went up to 33 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists to guide his team to victory. It was a titanic effort. When Norman Powell signed a two plus one that brought Canada’s victory much closer in the second overtime, Lowry ‘drew’ his physical display lying on his back, breathing with difficulty and with his fists raised.
It was no wonder, the game was a fantastic battle full of intensity and tension. Some wanted to win to close their classification while others fought not to go home. In that scenario, with two minutes to go, the email reflected a tie at 98. No one would be able to score in that time. Already in the first overtime, Norman Powell would have the last shot in his hand, but he missed as Kemba Walker did in regulation time. With another five minutes to figure out the winner, the Raptors were more accurate and Marcus Smart couldn’t convert the triple that would have forced the third overtime.
If Lowry was good, his teammates were not far behind in putting it all on the track. Pascal Siakam played 54 minutes, Fred VanVleet left at 51 and OG Anunoby accumulated 50. They had little rest, but that did not reduce their performance. Although Siakam was wrong, Anunoby would sign an important double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds while VanVleet would contribute 21 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. From the bench, Norman Powell would add another 23 points.
The truth is that seeing a team forcing the seventh game of a series in a meeting like the one experienced last night is something that is rarely seen in the NBA. To be exact, no team had escaped elimination in Game 6 by playing at least two overtime periods since the Chicago Bulls in 2009, when they just beat the Celtics 128-127 after three overtime. On that occasion Boston would recompose itself and end up closing the series in seventh.
Boston, mentally prepared
Toronto and Boston are two teams with great mental strength. The Canadians recovered from a 2-0 against and the Massachusetts players played their best game of the tie just after seeing how they equaled that 2-2 – with a miraculous triple d in between. Thus, it is not surprising that at the end of the clash Jaylen Brown, author of 31 points and 16 rebounds in 51 minutes, set his sights on the seventh game. “We had many opportunities in the final stretch and the truth is that we did not know how to handle them as well as we needed to,” says the forward.
In general, Boston had a good game that could not finish when the Raptors were worse, since they did not achieve a single point in the last four minutes of regulation time. Proof of the good performance of Brad Stevens’ boys is that Marcus Smart signed a triple-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and that Jayson Tatum touched that statistic by going to 29 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists.
Statistics of the seventh game
Who is better at win or go home? The reality is that making a comparison between the two franchises is difficult, since the Greens have many more years of history than the Raptors. In any case, what we can say is that both have a positive balance. Boston manages an excellent 23-9 in these matches while Toronto signs a 3-2; yes, the game that puts that ‘3’ in the Canadians’ locker is that of Kawhi Leonard’s mythical basket against the Philadelphia 76ers. Finally, and by way of anecdote, both teams are 0-3 playing as ‘local’ in the series. If that dynamic continues, the seventh should be for Boston, but of course, Toronto is not one that takes anything for granted.
(Photograph by Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
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