Toronto Raptors have it all to do if they are to salvage their NBA Playoffs and successfully defend their title, after losing Game 2 of the series to Boston Celtics in the semis of the Eastern Conference.
Celtics have shown that they are indeed challengers this season, beating the defending champions to secure a 102-99 victory, in a closely contested game 2 by the two teams.
The first quarter was so close, with the two teams finishing off at 28-28, but Celtics went into the break leading by 2pts. Raptors looked like they had unlocked the rhythm needed to secure a win, opening a 12pt lead at some point in the 3rd quarter, however a poor 4th quarter allowed Celtics to capitalize and see out the game with a 3pt win.
OG spins and finishes with the left!@celtics 66@Raptors 72#NBAPlayoffs on ESPN pic.twitter.com/RFpPVPTU33
— NBA (@NBA) September 1, 2020
Playing one of his best games for Raptors since the NBA restart, OG Anunoby led for his team with a team-high 20pts and 7reb, also making a steal in the game. Anunoby attempted six outside shots, and had an impressive conversion rate of 66.7%.
Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Pascal Siakam was also on double digits, making 17pts in the game with 8reb. Siakam only converted one of the four outside shots that he attempted, and it was a summary of Raptors’ poor shooting in the game having made only 11 of the 40 shots they attempted.
Buckets by OG pic.twitter.com/nltCvUkwRh
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 1, 2020
Semi Ojeleye was on the court for 10mins: 02s for Celtics, and although he did not record any point in the game, he made one steal as his team ran out winners.
Raptors will hope they can stretch the series to seven games, when they play Celtics in the third game on Thursday. If they are to make the finals, they will first have to win the next game, to avoid going down 3-0.
2-0 #CELTICSWIN ☘️☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/LF3X7i8jRT
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 2, 2020
