The Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics duked it out in a thrilling Game 6 on Wednesday night that ended with the Raps pulling out a gritty, hard-fought win to force a Game 7. While there were multiple huge performances for the Raptors in this double-overtime tilt, including some late-game heroics from franchise icon Kyle Lowry, it was perhaps five-year veteran Norman Powell that had the most important plays of the night for Toronto.
Lowry’s backcourt mate Fred VanVleet sung the praises of Powell’s night, per a tweet from The Washington Post’s Ben Golliver:
Raptors’ Fred VanVleet on Norman Powell after Game 6 double OT win over Celtics: “He saved us. He saved our season.” pic.twitter.com/9ShLpYNsVB
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 10, 2020
Many were scratching their heads at the end of the first overtime, in which the Raptors had possession and Powell dribbled the ball for about 15 seconds and then put up a contested, step-back triple.
However, Powell made up for that miscue in the following overtime period, as he put up 10 of his 23 critical points in the second overtime, which also included an and-1 layup with 38.8 seconds left in the game that gave the Raptors a crucial four-point cushion.
The 27-year-old Powell finished the night with 23 points on an absurdly efficient 6 of 11 shooting, buoyed by leading the team in free-throw attempts with nine – only missing one, and not missing any during the two overtime periods (going 7 of 7 from the charity stripe).
That game was one of the most thrilling of these playoffs and arguably the best series in the bubble by far, and NBA fans around the world are sure to be excited that this series is going to a decisive game 7 on Friday night.
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