Boston Celtics talent Marcus Smart did not shy away from describing the last moments that gave the Toronto Raptors a lifeline in this second-round series, as an OG Anunoby corner three kept the defending champions from staring at a 3-0 hole.
“Point-five on the clock, you've got OG making a 3-point shot with a heavy contest from Jaylen Brown and Kyle Lowry making a perfect pass over a guy who's 7-6,” said Smart on Friday, according to Jay King of The Athletic. “They did everything right.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!??!?! pic.twitter.com/9dfLglhKM5
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 4, 2020
Anunoby stepped up at a crucial time and knocked down a tough shot with barely enough time to leave his hands. The out-of-bounds play had to be spot-on, the pass on the money, and the catch-and-shoot had to be clean.
All the stars aligned for the Raptors, who could have found themselves down 3-0 in the series if Anunoby's shot had hit anything but the bottom of the net.
As for Smart, he knows it's back to work in Game 4, looking to put the Raptors on the brink of elimination:
“We've just gotta be who we've been this whole restart defensively,” said the Celtics talent. “It was a must-win game for them. They did their job. Now we need to go do ours.”
Smart also said the Celtics guards need to stay more connected to the ball-handlers. The defensive ace admitted his Celtics teammates got hit by more screens last night than they have their whole time in the bubble.
Should Boston's physicality prevail in Game 4, they could regain momentum by putting the defending champions against the wall, one game away from elimination.
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