Jayson Tatum scored 34 points while Marcus Smart had 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and the Boston Celtics edged the Toronto Raptors 102-99 on Tuesday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
OG Anunoby scored a post-season career-high 20 points for the Raptors, who trail Boston 2-0 in their best-of-seven set.
Game 3 is Thursday.
Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the defending NBA champions, who went 11-0 against other opponents in the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World but have now lost three in a row to Boston and are 1-5 against the Celtics this season. Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam had 17 points apiece, while Kyle Lowry finished with 16.
The Celtics led wire to wire to clobber Toronto 112-94 in Game 1, but the Raptors played with much greater energy Tuesday and Marc Gasol’s basket to put Toronto up just 47 seconds in marked the Raptors’ first lead against Boston in nearly 97 minutes over their two previous games.
The lead changed hands 16 times before the Raptors finally put some separation on Boston in the third quarter, and then with 2:46 left of the frame, coach Nick Nurse won a big challenge on a call after Smart sideswiped Siakam. Siakam’s free throw after the call reversal capped an 11-0 Raptors run and put them up by 12.
Toronto took a 78-70 lead into the fourth, but the Raptors’ momentum ground to a halt.
Smart lit it up with five consecutive three-pointers to start the quarter, and his fifth long bomb, barely four minutes into the period, put Boston up by a point. A basket by Robert Williams capped a 9-0 Celtics run that stretched the difference to eight.
Kemba Walker’s three-pointer with 2:24 to play had Boston up by six points. Lowry drew a foul and his two free throws with 1:01 to play sliced the difference to one, but Walker replied with a step-back jumper and it was a three-point game.
Siakam stepped out of bounds with 31.5 seconds left for a turnover, then VanVleet missed on a three-pointer at the buzzer to seal Boston’s victory.
Boston hit seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter, while the Raptors went just 1-for-11 from distance over the final 12 minutes.
The game was the first with players’ families in attendance. Video of VanVleet greeting his two kids _ daughter Sanaa, who’s two, and Fred Jr., who was born during last year’s conference finals _ went viral on Monday. The guard hadn’t seen them since July 21.
The camera caught Sanaa courtside during a timeout on Tuesday, waving and saying “I love you daddy.” VanVleet hit a three-pointer on Toronto’s next possession.
Some of the players opted not to have family join them in the bubble. Nurse, who doesn’t have his young family with him in the bubble, believes the arrival loved ones would help the players who do have family.
“When you’ve got small children, you know how much they can change when you haven’t seen them for a five-day road trip, let alone a two-week road trip, let alone a couple months sabbatical here that we’re on,” Nurse said. “So I think that there was a lot of. . . amazement (in Monday’s family reunions).”
It wasn’t quite enough to push Toronto past the Celtics though in Game 2.
VanVleet led the way with nine points in the first quarter, and his driving hook shot had the Raptors up by eight midway through the frame. The quarter ended in a 28-28 tie.
The teams matched each other virtually shot for shot through the second quarter until a driving dunk from Williams had the Celtics up by five late in the half. Siakam connected on a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer and the Raptors trailed 50-48 at halftime.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
