Toronto Raptors

In the immediate aftermath of OG Anunoby's stunning three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Toronto Raptors a 104-103 win on Thursday, Fred VanVleet believes the Boston Celtics opened a window for the defending NBA champions.  

Per The Athletic's Sam Amick, VanVleet was heard telling Raptors officials that Boston "f--ed up" by letting Toronto back in the series. 

The Celtics were on the verge of going up 3-0 in the series after Kemba Walker found Daniel Theis under the basket for an easy dunk to take a 103-101 lead with 0.5 seconds remaining. 

After a Toronto timeout, Anunoby caught a perfect inbounds pass over Tacko Fall from Kyle Lowry and sank a three-pointer all in one motion to beat the buzzer.    

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!??!?! pic.twitter.com/9dfLglhKM5

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 4, 2020

Boston looked to be in complete control of the series leading up to that moment. The Raptors got blown out 112-94 in Game 1 and were outscored by 11 in the fourth quarter of a 102-99 loss in Game 2. 

Toronto trailed the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals last season before a dramatic 118-112 double-overtime win in Game 3. That propelled the team to four straight victories and a trip to the NBA Finals. 

The Raptors still have work to do if they want to get past the Celtics in this series, but they somehow found an opening in Game 3 to give them hope moving forward. 

OG Anunoby's buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of Game 3 between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors may have been a surprise to many around the league, but not to the guy who took the shot. 

Anunoby grabbed the inbounds pass, rose for a jumper and walked off the court in one calm, smooth motion that oozed confidence, and for good reason.

"When I shot it I expected to make it," Anunoby told reporters afterwards. "I don't shoot trying to miss. I wasn't going to act surprised because I wasn't surprised."

OG CALLED GAME 🚨 https://t.co/VhaWNOIum6

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 4, 2020

The entire play was a sight to behold. Kyle Lowry somehow found a way to throw an inbound pass over 7'5" Tacko Fall to the other side of the court where Anunoby caught and fired it in one motion as time expired. 

Even before Anunoby took the shot, the pass was already a highlight. 

By the time it reached his hands, Anunoby already knew what was coming next. He visualized it, processed it and completed it. He didn't need to celebrate something he knew was going to happen. 

Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was a major presence for his team in crunch time of a 104-103 victory over the Boston Celtics in Thursday's Game 3 of their second-round series, but that's not why he joked after the game that he has "balls of steel." 

Lowry absorbed a blow below the belt on a Brad Wanamaker dunk in the final seconds of the third quarter and was whistled for the foul. Officials did not overturn it even after reviewing a replay that showed Lowry fall to the ground in pain after he was hit by a knee.

He was in a joking mood about it after the win:

Raptors’ Kyle Lowry on playing through the below-the-belt shot in Game 3 win over Celtics: “Obviously I’ve got balls of steel.” pic.twitter.com/F1A8PmMUa7

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 4, 2020

Lowry stayed in the game and led his team's comeback victory with a team-high 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds. His ability to attack the basket after the Raptors struggled from deep in the early going allowed them to gradually come back, and he found OG Anunoby for the game-winning shot at the buzzer with an impressive pass over Tacko Fall with less than a second remaining.

He will look to lead the way again in Saturday's Game 4, only this time he'd probably like to do so in a less painful manner.

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was not pleased with the officiating in his team's 102-99 loss to the Boston Celtics in Tuesday's Game 2 of their second-round playoff series.  

He pointed to Pascal Siakam's late drive with the Raptors trailing by three in which Marcus Smart stripped the forward and nearly created a critical turnover before stepping out of bounds. Nurse wanted far more than possession underneath the basket, though, and told reporters, "I think Smart fouled the s--t out of him" (warning: language):

Raptors coach Nick Nurse on Pascal Siakam’s late drive in Game 2 loss to Celtics: “I think (Marcus) Smart fouled the s—- out of him.” pic.twitter.com/UeeHiplisB

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 2, 2020

That wasn't the only thing Nurse took exception to in the loss that dropped his team to a 2-0 deficit in the series.

As Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports shared, the head coach was frustrated Jayson Tatum shot 14 free throws:

"The only frustrating part about it is this. He shoots 14 free throws, which is as much as our whole team shoots. That's the frustrating part. I think our guys were working hard on him and we were doing a pretty good job. ... They were obviously getting him the ball a lot, getting him some space.

"We could have helped a little bit better here in there. But they took pretty good care of him tonight."

Boston shot 25 free throws compared to 19 for Toronto.

Nurse may have been unhappy with the officiating, but his team was unable to slow Tatum throughout the game. The Celtics star finished with 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists while shooting 4-of-7 from deep and a perfect 14-of-14 from the charity stripe.

Elsewhere, Smart caught fire down the stretch and drained five three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone. The fifth was an and-1 that gave Boston the lead.

Toronto also struggled in crunch time, failing to make a field goal in the last two minutes. Fred VanVleet, who started well but faded as the game went on, missed a three at the buzzer that could have forced overtime, and the Raptors were outscored by 11 points during the fourth quarter.

They will look to bounce back in Thursday's Game 3.

Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said players gave "serious consideration" to leaving the Walt Disney World bubble if the league, owners and teams didn't agree to support their social justice initiatives.

"That was a very, very serious consideration," Lowry said, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.

"I think we (the Raptors and other NBA players) were seriously considering leaving," he explained, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. "I think that would have been in serious consideration [if not for the initiatives that the NBA and NBPA committed to]."

The NBA and its Players Association released a joint statement Friday that outlined the various endeavors the two sides will work toward during the ongoing fight against systemic racism and police brutality.

Serge Ibaka echoed his teammate's comments, saying "We were close. We were very close," per Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star.

While the players on the Milwaukee Bucks were the first to decide they would sit out a game in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, Malika Andrews and Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported the Raptors held a team meeting Tuesday to discuss sitting out Game 1 of their second-round series against the Boston Celtics.

"We knew coming here or not coming here was not going to stop anything, but I think ultimately playing or not playing puts pressure on somebody," Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said.

Milwaukee's Wednesday game against the Orlando Magic was ultimately postponed, as were the rest of the day's slate and games on Thursday and Friday.

Players held meetings and eventually decided to resume the season. Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks reported: "Many players believed that leaving the bubble would take away their platform and felt that real change and awareness can come from working in Orlando on this big stage."

The joint statement the league and Players Association released outlined three specific initiatives, the first of which established a social justice coalition with players, coaches and governors to advocate for voting, police reform and more.

The second initiative called for governors to work with election officials to convert arenas into voting hubs for the 2020 election, while the third called for increased advertising spots during playoff games to raise awareness of societal issues and voting opportunities.

On the court, Lowry's Raptors lost Game 1 to the Celtics on Sunday 112-94.

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam said Wednesday he's questioning the decision to resume the 2019-20 NBA season in Orlando, Florida, after the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Wisconsin on Sunday.

Siakam told reporters: "It feels like we're stuck. It feels like things are not changing. It feels like we're not doing anything productive."

Asked if he regrets coming to the NBA bubble, Siakam said: "Definitely things like that happening makes me question it. ... It makes me question if this was the right decision, or are we really making a change, are we really doing something meaningful?"

Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported earlier Wednesday that players are engaged in discussions with the National Basketball Players Association executive committee about the logistics of potentially boycotting games.

Sources told Haynes there's a "sizable faction of players who are psychologically distraught" after watching the video of the shooting of Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He remains hospitalized.

Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill made similar comments to Siakam on Monday.

"We can't do anything [from Orlando]," Hill said Monday. "First of all, we shouldn't have even came to this damn place, to be honest. I think coming here just took all the focal points off what the issues are."

Patrick Salvi Jr., an attorney for Blake's family, told CNN there wasn't a gun in the vehicle Blake was walking toward in the video, but his three young children (ages three, five and eight) were inside.

"In the vehicle, he did not have a weapon," Salvi said Wednesday. "I can't speak directly to what he owned, but what I can say is his three children were in the car, and that was in the front of his mind. That is the most important thing to him in his life: his family and his children."

Protests broke out in Wisconsin and have started to spread around the country after previous unrest following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others.

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes made pointed remarks about the shooting.

"Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times in front of his children. And let me be clear, this was not an accident. This was not bad police work. This felt like some sort of vendetta being taken out on a member of our community," Barnes said.

The 2020 NBA playoffs are scheduled to continue with three games Wednesday at the Disney World complex, including Game 5 between Hill's Bucks and the Orlando Magic.

Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain after undergoing an MRI, the team announced Monday.  

Lowry was limited to nine minutes in Toronto's series-clinching victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters the six-time All-Star was initially concerned about an injury to the arch of his left foot.

As Josh Lewenberg of TSN noted, he was not ruled out for the upcoming series against the Boston Celtics and the team will likely determine his availability based on how he responds to treatment.

Toronto made quick work of the short-handed Nets, but the road back to the NBA Finals will only get more difficult. That makes Lowry's health and availability critical for the reigning champions.

The 34-year-old was his usual self in the regular season, averaging 19.4 points and 7.5 assists while shooting 41.6 percent from the floor and 35.2 percent from beyond the arc. His performance was one of many reasons Toronto secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference despite losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in the offseason.

Fred VanVleet would be a capable replacement for Lowry, and the Raptors' strength largely comes from their depth rather than a reliance on any one player. Still, this is the time when a singular talent such as Leonard is at his most valuable.

Lowry isn't that kind of presence for Toronto, but his absence would make it tougher for Toronto's more egalitarian attack to thrive.

The defending champions have this whole playoff thing down.

The Toronto Raptors finished their sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in their first-round playoff series with a 150-122 victory in Sunday's Game 4 at Walt Disney World Resort. Toronto is heading to the second round for the fifth straight season after Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam spearheaded the latest balanced effort.

As for the short-handed Nets, they were unable to overcome the attrition on their roster against a deeper opponent even though Caris LeVert led the way in the final defeat.

             

Notable Player Stats

• Serge Ibaka, F, TOR: 27 PTS, 15 REB, 2 BLK, 12-of-14 FG, 3-of-3 3PT
• Norman Powell, G, TOR: 29 PTS, 5 REB, 2 STL, 5-of-9 3PT
• Pascal Siakam, F, TOR: 20 PTS, 10 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL
• Caris LeVert, G, BKN: 35 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL, 6-of-9 3PT
• Jarrett Allen, C, BKN: 8 PTS, 15 REB, 2 BLK

                

Raptors Show Off Their Depth in Win

Casual NBA fans could have been forgiven if they wrote off the Raptors heading into the 2019-20 campaign.

After all, they lost Kawhi Leonard to free agency after he drilled a Game 7 buzzer-beater to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, outdueled MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals and dispatched of the powerhouse Golden State Warriors as the NBA Finals MVP.

Kawhi or no Kawhi, the Raptors continue to prove they have the depth to compete for an NBA Finals berth out of the East.

That depth was immediately put to the test when Kyle Lowry limped to the locker room in the first quarter with an ankle injury and was ruled out for the game. He is the veteran leader of the team, the face of the franchise and a primary reason the Raptors clinched the No. 2 seed in the East even without Leonard.

Lowry heads to the locker room with an apparent injury pic.twitter.com/xXVSuZUn9d

— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) August 23, 2020

Norm x Serge =

56 Pts | 18 Reb | 8 3pm | 81 FG% pic.twitter.com/fjdxWnw4Hg

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 24, 2020

NORMAN "PLAYOFF" POWELL

NUFF SAID pic.twitter.com/71AJGCKRvy

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 24, 2020

* @OAnunoby voice *

Naw. pic.twitter.com/xyclBrFijh

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 23, 2020

PLAYOFF POWELL IS A PROBLEM 😤 pic.twitter.com/liJ1scDfxn

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 23, 2020

Siakam made up for some of the facilitating with Lowry sidelined even while looking for his own shot, Powell provided a scoring spark off the bench and Ibaka dominated the Nets on the inside.

Toronto dropped 77 points in the first half alone all while Fred VanVleet, who has been the team's best overall player in this series, made just one field goal. It was another testament to the roster's versatility, and six players scored in double figures by the final buzzer.

The Raptors will likely need a healthy Lowry to compete for a championship, but their depth was too much for the Nets in the first round.

             

Better Days Ahead for the Nets

Even though they were swept in the first round, the Nets already surpassed expectations in the bubble by going 5-3 in the seeding games without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Wilson Chandler and Taurean Prince.

They lost Joe Harris for Games 3 and 4 of this series and simply didn't have the firepower to compete with the talented Raptors.

If there is a silver lining for the Nets, it is the realization that LeVert looks ready to be a key piece for a playoff contender for years to come. They signed the 25-year-old to a three-year extension in August 2019, and he played the role of go-to scorer in the bubble with so many key pieces out.

.@CarisLeVert ↘️ @_bigjayy_ pic.twitter.com/uGEakBVKSf

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 24, 2020

.@CarisLeVert stays attacking#BrooklynStrong | @ImperialDade pic.twitter.com/bCBgwSdiBo

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 24, 2020

That's a career-high 2️⃣6️⃣ first-half points for @CarisLeVert pic.twitter.com/KgC86DIAaL

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 24, 2020

Pick-2!@CarisLeVert | #BrooklynStrong pic.twitter.com/a36Y9aYdad

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 23, 2020

He scored 34 points in a win over the Washington Wizards and 37 points in a close loss to the Portland Trail Blazers during the seeding games and torched Toronto's defense for stretches in Sunday's game from behind the arc. He also dished out assists when the Raptors focused too much attention on him and appeared ready to play with more talented teammates in the future.

That future will include the return of Durant, Irving and Dinwiddie, which should put Brooklyn in the middle of the NBA Finals picture in the East as soon as next season.

LeVert was a bright spot once again in defeat, and he will likely have much more talent around him the next time he takes the floor.

           

What's Next?

The Raptors turn their attention to a second-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, while the Nets can focus on the 2020-21 campaign and the return of a healthy Durant and Irving.

Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry will undergo an MRI after suffering an injury to the arch of his foot late in the first quarter of Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets, Raptors coach Nick Nurse revealed after a 150-122 victory.

The club had initially announced Lowry suffered a left ankle injury.

Lowry recorded two points on 1-of-3 shooting with three assists and two rebounds in nine minutes of action before exiting. Toronto completed the sweep of Brooklyn with the win.

Though the full extent of the injury is not yet known, Nurse knows Lowry will do everything in his power to play when the Raptors meet the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"I know this: It's gonna [have to] be a hell of an injury to keep him off the floor," Nurse noted, per The Athletic's Eric Koreen.

Per Koreen, the series will open Thursday, giving the team four days to evaluate the injury.

Many expected the reigning champion Raptors to slip down the Eastern Conference standings following the offseason departures of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard. Instead, Toronto clinched the second seed for the postseason.

Lowry deserves plenty of credit for the team's performance. He averaged 19.7 points and 7.7 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range before the Raptors headed to Florida for the NBA's restart.

Those numbers helped Lowry reach the All-Star Game for the sixth straight season.

Injuries have been a headache for the 34-year-old throughout his career. He missed 17 games in 2018-19 and 22 games in 2016-17. His physical style, coupled with his 6-foot frame, increases the odds he's forced out for a stretch of the season. 

Fred VanVleet will likely move over to point guard to compensate for Lowry's absence. The Raptors will be in good hands for the time being with him running the offense.

The depth and continuity Toronto has built over the years will be invaluable, as well.

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was honored as the NBA's Coach of the Year for 2019-20 on Saturday. 

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been named the 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/0WOkN95rRv

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 22, 2020

Nick Nurse wins Coach of Year. Here’s voting: pic.twitter.com/8i5d5dOZSF

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) August 22, 2020

He's the second Raptors coach in three years to earn the award, following Dwane Casey in 2017-18.

The candidates for this year's individual awards were judged on their performance prior to the NBA suspending the season on March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anything that happened after the league's restart in Orlando, Florida, didn't factor into the equation.

As a result, Nurse was the strongest candidate in the Coach of the Year field.

Any shot the Raptors had at repeating as NBA champions seemingly went out the window when Kawhi Leonard signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and Danny Green signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. ESPN.com's preseason power rankings listed Toronto 12th overall and the fifth-best team in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors were second in the Eastern Conference at 46-18, 6.5 games back of the Milwaukee Bucks, when play halted in the spring.

They were tied with the Clippers for third in net rating (6.4) through 64 games, per NBA.com. Despite losing Leonard, one of the league's best perimeter defenders, their 104.9 defensive rating was second behind only the Bucks (101.6).

Nurse showed he's willing to experiment on defense when he adopted a box-and-one approach for the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. 

They playing a Box and 1? Lol

— Seth Curry (@sdotcurry) June 3, 2019

That has continued into 2019-20.

"At the end of the day, our coach is very innovative, and he tries things and he's creative and we're a team that buys into what he decides to do," Kyle Lowry said in December, per Sportsnet's Steven Loung. "I think everything is worth a shot, worth a try."

Toronto's offense hasn't quite equaled its stifling defense, which was to be expected considering Leonard averaged nearly 27 points per game in 2018-19. Pascal Siakam has flourished under Nurse's watch to become a genuine go-to No. 1 scoring option.

Siakam was the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2019, and his game has taken another step forward this season. He averaged 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists through his first 53 games, earning his first trip to the All-Star Game.

The Raptors will still be viewed by many as an underdog in the playoffs because that's when Leonard's absence is likely to loom largest.

Regardless of how the postseason unfolds, it doesn't change how good of a job Nurse has done leading up to his point.