Jayson Tatum faded in the fourth quarter of his last Game 7 two years ago against the Cavs. He made sure that did not happen on Friday night. The All-Star forward led the Celtics in points, rebounds and assists, (29-12-7) helping carrying the C’s to a Game 7 win over the Raptors.
The Celtics did not make a field goal in the final five minutes and 20 seconds of regulation but were able to hold on late thanks to terrific defense, including a huge block on the fast break by Marcus Samrt in the final minutes. Smart had 16 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in the win and Jaylen Brown added 21 points and 8 rebounds in the sloppy affair.
Fred VanVleet had a team-high 20 points for the Raptors who only scored 41 points in the second half, which wasn’t enough to erase Boston’s four-point halftime edge.
The C’s will now face off with the Heat in the East Finals starting on Tuesday night.
Third quarter notes
—Jayson Tatum has started to assert his will in this game. He’s leaving all players in points (22), rebounds (12) and assists (6) through three quarters, helping keep the C’s holding off Toronto early.
—Kemba Walker no longer having to deal with the box and 1 but he’s still struggling with his shot (3-of-11)
—Daniel Theis minutes down after picking up four fouls early in the frame. Going to be tough to manage his foul trouble.
—Fred VanVleet has it going for the first time all series. C’s will need to keep him under control.
TURNING POINT
After a first half full of runs on both sides, the Celtics made the biggest one to close the half, breaking out of an offensive funk to close with a 17-6 outburst and re-take the lead.
TWO UP
Jaylen Brown inside the arc: The swingman had a team-high 15 points in the first half despite struggling beyond the arc. He couldn’t miss from 2-point range however, going a perfect 6-of-6 from inside 3-point range.
Rob Williams: A nice burst of energy in both of his stints early as he finished a couple buckets on offensive rebounds and played solid defensively in switches.
TWO DOWN
Celtics 3-point shooting: Nearly half of Boston’s 3-point attempts in the first half came from beyond the arc (22-of-48). However, they knocked down just five, with Brown (1-of-6) and Smart (2-of-8) struggling most from deep early.
Kemba Walker: The All-Star continues to struggle against the box-and-1 zone by the Raptors, failing to get on the board for the first 19 minutes of the game. He’s scored just nine points in the last six halves.
Rob Williams first sub of the game at 8 minutes. He makes his first shot, putting his FG percentage up to 89 percent in the series. Matching him up against Gasol is best way to maximize his minutes
—C’s open 1-of-8 from 3-point range but make their first four shots inside the arc.
—Raptors using the same box-and-1 defense on Kemba walker early
—Siakam remains a mess down low, missing his first two shots including a postup against Kemba Walker.
—13-0 Celtics run midway through first quarter after Rob Williams sub
--Raptors answer with a 9-2 run by attacking the Celtics in transition
—Jaylen Brown opens the game 0-of-4 from 3-point range
—12 of first 19 shots from the field have been from 3-point range for C’s.
—Raps bench have been nice difference makers early opening the game 4-of-5 from the field to get Toronto’s offense going.
—C’s shot just 39 percent in first quarter and 23 percent from 3 after blowing early 16-7 lead.
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Jaylen Brown
C: Daniel Theis
G: Fred Van Vleet
PF: OG Anunoby
C: Marc Gasol
- Seven pressing questions for Celtics-Raptors Game 7
- Podcast: B-Robb preview Game 7 of Celtics-Raptors with Adam Jones
- Celtics Notebook: Last Two-Minute Report says officials missed foul call on Kemba Walker drive at end of regulation
- One big stat to watch tonight: 3-point shooting. Raptors are knocking down 37 percent in wins in this series and just 27 percent in losses.
- The Raptors have won the third quarter by an average of 6.2 points in each game in this series.
- Brad Stevens is 2-1 in his career during Game 7s. C's players are a combined 6-4 in their career during Game 7s while the Raptors are 11-5.