https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzD5OqO-TR0&ab_channel=NBAPlayoffs2022
Shout-out to Pascal's niece. pic.twitter.com/qeMf2NrbZ9
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) March 29, 2022
Two-way, all-around, All-NBA whatever you name it pic.twitter.com/nmhsVV34z9
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) March 29, 2022
Thad has been HUGE pic.twitter.com/bEHFClLes3
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) March 29, 2022
Every Raptors fans want to Will Smith Evan Scott right now pic.twitter.com/WuPx6Sledp
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) March 29, 2022
Siakam’s force helps Raptors take overtime win from shorthanded Celtics – Sportsnet
That the Celtics kept their top talent home could be a theme as the regular season winds down. Toronto has seven games left, five at home, and it’s hard to find too many opponents remaining who will be all that interested in competing. The Minnesota Timberwolves – in town Wednesday – will be, as they try to snag sixth place in the West. But otherwise?
Like Boston, Miami and Philadelphia could well angling to slide back to the third seed and avoid a potential match-up with the dangerous Brooklyn Nets – who most feel will end up in seventh or eighth place after the play-in tournament. Atlanta will likely be trying to work their way into a favourable spot in the play-in tournament, but all of Orlando, Houston and New York have more to gain from losing than winning.
It all bodes well for the Raptors hanging onto the sixth seed and even moving up to fifth.
Nowhere did the Celtics show they were missing their top two wings and top two centre options more than on the defensive end and no one was more effective exploiting in than Siakam.
Early in the opening quarter the Raptors recognized that Boston was short of options to defend Siakam off the dribble in space and so they simply did everything they could to get Siakam isolated in the middle of the floor against Daniel Theis or Grant Williams. Theis in particular couldn’t match-up with the Raptors’ leading scorer. At one point in the first quarter Siakam scored four straight buckets on his way to 10 points in the game’s opening 10 minutes.
It took a while for the Raptors to dial in defensively, however, and the remaining Celtics seemed to appreciate the extra looks that came with Brown and Tatum out. All eight Celtics that touched the floor in the first quarter scored as they shot a combined 14-of-25 from the floor and 6-of-12 from three to lead 38-30.
Siakam was hardly finished, and the Celtics remained without an answer – there aren’t many when the Raptors big wing has the ball on a string, room to operate and is on target with his floaters and mid-range jumpers. Siakam kept punishing Boston adding to his total by two making steals on the perimeter and taking the ball the other way on solo fast breaks.
There were only a couple of downsides: One was that Siakam picked up his third foul just before the half as he got whistled for sticking out his lead elbow in the Celtics Grant Williams’ chest one of his spin moves, the other was that even with Siakam’s 25 first half points, Toronto only led the short-handed Celtics 59-58 at half.
Boston shifted their tactics in the third quarter as they began shading multiple defenders his way, collapsing on spins or sometimes using a guard on him to limit his penetration. It was effective – Siakam was held to five points on 1-of-3 shooting and the Raptors didn’t have anyone step up immediately to pitch in as they managed just 21 points on 7-of-25 shooting, as Boston dialed up their defense with five of their seven blocked shots.
Fortunately, the Raptors were making life equally difficult for Boston, who shot just 9-of-25. The two teams were tied 80-80 to start the fourth.
The Boston Celtics are super-talented pains in the butt, even without four starters.
“You say they’re missing four starters,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said after Toronto’s 115-112 win in overtime. “(Al) Horford (has been) an All-Star, (Jaylen) Brown’s an All-Star, (Jayson) Tatum’s an All-Star. Who is the (fourth)? Robert Williams is ranked the best defensive center in the league right now. OK. However, they replaced ’em with a couple guys that have started several hundred games in this league in (Daniel) Theis and (Derrick) White. … That’s why they’re so good. They’ve got some guys that have played in this league and they’ve got some serious depth.
“We’ve seen them play before and you guys saw ’em play tonight. They’re good, good players.”
The Raptors (43-32) barely escaped. The Celtics’ swagger was noticeable even without so many of their best players. Boston is also one of four teams that the Raptors have pretty much an equal chance of playing if Toronto should squeak into the playoffs.
A game separates the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference, and none of them would be an easy matchup for the Raptors, who would be clear underdogs in any of the series. However, some of them would be more advantageous than others.
Undermanned Celtics lose a tough one against the Raptors 115-112 in overtime – CelticsBlog
A big key to Boston’s success was Derrick White. He championed bench lineups that held their own against Toronto’s huge front line. The defense was exceptional, and he kept the ball moving to find the hands of shooters like Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser. Playing clean-up duty was Luke Kornet, who was a big factor in the Celtics killing the Raptors in second-chance points.
In the fourth, a lineup of Smart-Pritchard-Nesmith-Hauser-Theis really put on a great show, keeping all of Toronto’s pushes at bay with solid defense and strong, fundamental offense. Daniel Theis (13 points, 10 rebounds) went one stretch (including a play in which he put Siakam in a body bag), in which he scored seven straight points for the team. Udoka decided to ride with that lineup because of how solid they were playing despite Grant Williams and Derrick White sitting on the bench.
Fred VanVleet (14 points) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to one, and that led to a really tight back-and-forth. Some Smart grifting later, and a crucial possession led to the ball sitting in Aaron Nesmith’s hands with just under a minute left in the corner. His 3-point make gave Boston a four-point lead, putting the team in prime position. Unfortunately, Siakam really wanted Bubble revenge, forcing the game into overtime.
In overtime, Siakam continued imposing his will while Boston had a tough time scoring. The turnovers really killed the Celtics, with three key miscues coming from Grant Williams and Derrick White at the worst moments. Boston was unable to generate a quality look in the closing seconds, leading to the win-streak coming up short. Ultimately, it’s hard to get it done with 15 turnovers between Smart, Grant Williams, and Derrick White (15 points, 8 assists).
The Celtics now have fallen a game behind the Miami Heat for the first seed.
Raptors Game Recap: Siakam pours in 40, Raptors survive OT for 115-112 win over Boston – Raptors HQ
The thing about the Celtics, even when depleted, is that they’re super well-coached, and endlessly frustrating ti play. As a result, this was no picnic, with the Raptors barely eeking out a 115-112 win in overtime.
They won this game because of Pascal Siakam. If ever you needed proof that he’s an All-NBA level player, just run back the tape of the final 10 minutes of this game. The first 24 will do the trick, too — he scored 25 in the firt half — but it was in closing time that he put the finishes touches on a masterful 40-point, 13-rebound, three-steal, two-block night during the most pivotal moments of the game.
The Celtics aren’t quite the defensive bear they’ve been all year without four of their six best players, but Ime Udoka can freaking coach, and their nasty quotient didn’t drop off much on Monday. With Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. visibly less than 100 percent, OG Anunoby mostly on corner triple duty, and Scottie Barnes fighting through a rookie-looking off night, Siakam’s headlong drives into and slick spins around the likes of Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, Derrick White or whichever other poor souls were in his way represented the best Toronto’s offense could muster. He battled his way to the line for eight attempts — including two must-hits to even the gamea at 106 and send it to overtime — and connected on 17 of 25 twos; the 0-4 mark he posted from downtown is the only real knock against his stat line, and if you’re gonna cherry pick that you’re a cop.
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Simply put, Siakam was the best player on the floor on Monday, which tends to win you games, even when you’re not at your best, which the Raptors certainly were not.Marcus Smart was a big reason why. Every part of my soul wants to hate the guy; when he’s playing the team I like I most certainly do. But as a long-standing Kyle Lowry acolyte who loves himself a heel, it’s hard not to respect Smart’s combination of defense, offensive juice and grift, however begruding it might be. Tasked with running the show sans Tatum, Smart try-harded his way to 25 points, 10 boards and four assists, while making VanVleet’s life on the ball a living hell. Mercifully, Smart’s seven turnovers and 2-of-11 mark from outside did the Celtics in. As good as he’s become, he ain’t Pascal Siakam.
Siakam wasn’t alone in the victory, even with some substandard efforts from guys you’d typically expect more from. For the first time in a while, the best Raptors reserve wasn’t one of Chris Boucher or Precious Achiuwa, who combined to go just 5-of-19 from the floor. It was instead Thad Young who shone for Toronto in 28 minutes off the bench, so brightly in fact that he closed this one through the end of regulation and overtime.
Thad’s fit with the Raptors has been a little unclear to this point. His mix of size, playmaking and defensive wits are obviously very Raptorsy traits, but the exact place to slide him in has mostly been unclear since the deadline. It’s a little clearer now, following his essential 12-8-3-1-3 night on 5-of-9 shooting, 2-of-5 from downtown
Raptors pass physical test against Celtics and climb into tie for fifth in the East | The Star
Even missing four starters — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with knee woes, Al Horford for personal reasons and Robert Williams with knee surgery pending — the Celtics have a way of turning a game physical and they did it from the start.
They mucked up the game with some aggressive defence and hot shooting, and it took a while for the Raptors to respond.
“It gets hard for them to handle it all when it’s a little touchy (long pause for effect here) at the other end, is what I was looking for,” Nurse said. “But for the most part, I thought they handled it OK.”
The Raptors knew it was coming and went toe-to-toe for most of the night, but a couple of late defensive lapses allowed the Celtics to take a lead that evaporated with two clutch Fred VanVleet three-pointers and the Siakam free throws.
“That was a tough one tonight,” Nurse said. “That was a tough game to play and it certainly could have went either way, and we’ve been on the wrong end of some of those. You feel really crappy at the end of them when you end up on the wrong side, so it was nice we got one of these ugly, grind-out, ‘really don’t know what the hell is going on out there’ Ws.”
The return of Trent allowed the Raptors to get back to what has been generally considered their five top players as starters with VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Siakam to open the game.
It wasn’t a seamless return by any stretch — the Raptors got behind early and were down 38-30 after a quarter — and the jury is still out on that group, which hasn’t played much together since the mid-February all-star break. But getting Trent in rhythm with the other starters, and getting them used to playing with him, is paramount in the final two weeks of the regular season, even if Nurse was a bit surprised Trent was even available.
“He’s not moving that great, to be honest with you from what I’ve seen lately, so I’m surprised he’s a go tonight,” Nurse said about 90 minutes before tipoff. “But … the most important thing is that we get into a healthy spot quickly. so we can get his rhythm back quickly and feel like himself. Even if that means a few minutes tonight to make a step forward, then that would be helpful.”
Nurse didn’t waver from his pre-game assessment after the game.
“I gave you my honest answer before the game and I’ll stick with that: not great,” he said. “But he got out there and he made a couple of big free throws.”
Offensively, the traits fueling Boston’s growth were on display for much of the night. The Celtics played decisively, moving the ball effectively, assisting on 23 of 39 made field goals, and a willingness to attack the basket paved the way to 52 points in the paint.
In the clip below, there are three defenders near Payton Pritchard. A Luke Kornet screen dislodges Fred VanVleet, and Pritchard sells that he’s going right before crossing over to his left to lose Precious Achiuwa as OG Anunoby drops down to pick up Grant Williams, who’s open in the left corner. Pritchard then elevates off two feet, going at Siakam and Chris Boucher and coming away with two points.
However, the Celtics committed too many turnovers, coughing the ball up 18 times. Only two of those happened from the fourth quarter through overtime, but they occurred in the final five minutes of regulation while trying to fend off the Raptors.
Also, while Boston’s aggressive playing style led to taking 28 free throws and scoring nine more points from the charity stripe than the opposition, the Celtics went 22/28 (78.6 percent) from the foul line, leaving too many points on the table.
Doing a better job taking care of the ball and converting on more of their free throws might’ve helped the Celtics overcome their struggles down the stretch. From the final five minutes of regulation through the extra frame, they shot 28.6 percent from the field, including 1/5 (20 percent) from beyond the arc, and got outscored 23-15.
Marcus Smart, the lone starter who suited up tonight, generated 28 points, a team-high. It wasn’t an efficient performance, as he went 10/25 (40 percent) from the field, including 2/11 (18.2 percent) on threes, but with four starters out, a significant amount of those shots were going to get redistributed to Smart. He also dished out four assists, and he set up his teammates for plenty of quality looks that didn’t go down.
There was an ill-advised three, a sloppy turnover in crunch time, and he gave the ball away seven times, which is too many. But between stepping up as a scorer, continuing to lead this team as its floor general, and playing well defensively as the Raptors frequently tried to target some of his teammates, Smart fought admirably on Monday.
Raptors See How Far Pascal Siakam Has Come in Win vs Celtics – Sports Illustrated
Everyone Boston threw his way was just lunch meat for the 6-foot-9 forward who dropped 25 points in the first half alone. All 12 of his buckets came in the paint as he cooked Derrick White and Daniel Theis for a pair of first-half and-1s. Even when Boston adjusted, he came up clutch for the Raptors in the fourth with a driving layup to pull Toronto to within two in the final minute before a pair of free throws forced overtime.
“I already have seen what he can do just from guarding it. But he’s just taken it to a whole ‘nother level. 40s? It’s getting crazy. He’s been phenomenal. He’s been amazing,” said Thad Young who came off the bench and scored 12 points in his best game as a Raptor.
That’s when the complexity and breadth of Siakam’s evolution really came out. He was the engine for Toronto’s entire offense in overtime, forced to create for himself and others in the half-court. He stepped up for big-time buckets down the stretch, but it was his defense with five fouls that really kept the Raptors alive as a pair of blocks allowed Toronto to clinch it with a pair of free throws from Gary Trent Jr.
“It’s a tough line you have to walk through and it’s hard. For me, it was just instinct and doing whatever I felt at the time. For the longest time I thought I had four fouls, to be honest with you, when I had five fouls,” Siakam said. “Maybe if I didn’t think that I would’ve been a little less aggressive but I just wanted to make plays and we needed those plays.”
Raptors Overlook Celtics Early
Toronto has a bad tendency of overlooking the league’s worst teams. While Boston doesn’t quite fit that description, the Celtics without Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams III, and Al Horford might. A lack of concentration in the first quarter allowed the Celtics to jump up by double digits in the first quarter thanks to a barrage of three-pointers Toronto couldn’t contest. Things were far too easy for the Celtics who saw Marcus Smart break out for 28 points.
“I knew it was tough mentally on us to see those guys out,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I knew it was gonna be tough on us and I knew those guys were really good. We’ve seen them play before and you guys saw ‘em play tonight.”
Raptors fight off determined, shorthanded Celtics for overtime win | Toronto Sun
With the win, the Raptors moved into a fifth-place tie with the Chicago Bulls in the East and are now one game ahead of Cleveland in seventh.
The Bulls, however, own the tiebreaker so Toronto must finish ahead of them in the standings to get the higher seed.
Led by 28 points from Marcus Smart and double digit scoring from six other Celtics, some you may have even heard of, Boston stayed right in this one. They even had the lead most of the night.
Pascal Siakam needed two free throws with 12.6 seconds left to get the game into overtime and calmly made both to give him 36 in regulation.
The two teams came went into the final quarter tied at 80 but the Celtics opened the frame hitting three unanswered buckets, all of the three-point variety to put the Raptors in a bit early hole.
It wasn’t until Fred VanVleet hit back-to-back threes of his own with 3½ minutes remaining before the Raptors reeled the Celtics back in cutting the deficit to one.
And it wasn’t until Siakam hit that second free throw with just over a dozen seconds left that the Raptors drew even.
In overtime, it was a who-wanted-it-most battle and the Raptors had the edge in that department, led by veteran reserve Thad Young — who was only in the game at that point because Scottie Barnes had fouled out.
Young got a huge block on Daniel Theis at one end and after a Siakam attempt rimmed out he got Siakam a second chance with an all-out-effort rebound.
