Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 102-99 win over the Raptors with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Huge fourth quarter rally saves Celtics: Marcus Smart scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Jayson Tatum posted a playoff career-high of 34 points, helping the Celtics rally from a 12-point second-half deficit and for a 102-99 win. The Celtics went on a 29-9 run in the fourth quarter to erase a deficit largely behind Smart’s 3-point shooting. Smart knocked down five 3s in the frame, all coming within a five-minute span. Tatum and Smart did the heavy lifting early but it was Kemba Walker (11 fourth-quarter points) who came up big in crunch time with a pair of jumpers in the final 2:30 to give the Celtics the cushion they needed to hold on to the win.
OG Anunoby had a team-high 20 points for how Raptors, leading five different players in double figures for Toronto. The Celtics now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 with Game 3 looming on Thursday night.
Celtics defense stands strong late: The Raptors played with a lot more energy in this game right out of the gate (28 first quarter points) but they were not able to score with the game on the line. Boston held Toronto to just 23.8 percent shooting in the fourth quarter and 1-of-11 from 3-point range in the final frame, allowing the Celtics to outscore them by double digits (32-21) in the fourth quarter. No one on the Raptors roster made more than one field goal in the quarter as the starting five combined to go 3-of-16 from the field against a gritty Celtics defense that featured some big surprise minutes from Grant Williams at power forward. With Toronto’s long-range shots not falling in this series, they haven’t shown the ability to create enough in the lane.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit with a 29-9 run midway through the second half to retake the lead. Smart’s 3-point shooting was the main source of the run as he scored 15 points within a three-minute stretch
THREE UP
Rob Williams: The backup center set a new postseason career-high with 11 points scoring 10 in the first quarter alone to help the C's climb back into the game. He’s now shooting 80.4 percent from the field in the bubble.
Jayson Tatum: After a slow start in Game 1, Tatum put together the best game of his postseason career to date. He opened the game with 16 points on 5-of-9 FG but managed to score a career-high 34 points in the playoffs while also setting an overall career-high by going 14-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Marcus Smart: The guard scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including five 3-point makes. He's now shooting 55 percent from 3-point range (11-of-20) against the Raptors after going an ugly 2-of-15 in the first round.
TWO DOWN
Kemba Walker in the first three quarters: The All-Star was dominant in Game 1 but was unable to get into a rhythm during the first three quarters of Game 2. He opened the game 2-of-14 from the field, including miss all seven of his 3-point attempts in the opening 36 minutes before finding his rhythm late.
Turnovers: The Celtics backcourt was sloppy with their passes and ball handling early on in this one, with Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown combining for five of the team’s 10 turnovers in the first half. The C’s finished 17 on the night which allowed the Raptors to post 16 fast break points, double their total from Game 1.
INJURY REPORT
Rob Williams fell hard on his back/tailbone after a putback dunk in the second quarter. He received some treatment in the locker room but returned to the game.
TOP PLAY
that stepback was a thing of beauty pic.twitter.com/xGXT8OSZ7n
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 1, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Jayson Tatum’s career postseason night seemed routine: It was easy to get overshadowed, I guess, between Smart’s hot fourth-quarter shooting and Walker’s clutch baskets late, but this was a banner night for the forward, even if it didn’t seem special. Toronto is as tough as a defense as you’ll see and outside of Kawhi Leonard in a hypothetical Finals matchup, he’s probably not going to see a tough individual defender this postseason than the combination of Lowry and Anunoby. Despite that, he managed to post 34 points, get to the free-throw line a career-high 14 times and keep the Celtics in the game for three quarters as his starting backcourt suffered through a miserable shooting night (Tatum had 29 points at the end of the three quarters). The fact that it didn’t seem out of the ordinary is a tribute to how far and how fast Tatum has emerged as a superstar in this league. Throw in some terrific defense on Toronto’s final possession of the game (a contested VanVleet 3) and you are currently looking at a top-10 player in the NBA. He’s also on a rookie deal for one more season.
Rob Williams might be the best center on this team by the end of the playoffs: Rarely do you see a player show so much progression in the midst of a meaningful stretch of the season, but that’s exactly what we are getting right now with Timelord. He’s becoming a far more reliable presence on the defensive end, biting less on pump fakes while also providing necessary help in post situations from the weak side. The fact that Daniel Theis is not reliable with his catches around the basket makes Williams’ finishing ability a huge asset in these games around the C’s shooters on the perimeter, opening the floor up in the pick-and-roll. Theis still is miles ahead of him from a reliability standpoint on the defensive end but the strides Williams is making are very real. This game could have gotten ugly in the first quarter without him and the biggest question now is whether the C’s can keep him healthy for the remainder of their postseason run since he’s turning into a vital part of it.