TORONTO – OG Anunoby didn’t blink. He barely cracked a smile as he was mobbed by his teammates.
“Someone hit me in the nose,” the Raptors forward said after the game. “I’m mad about that, but it’s cool.”
You might expect that kind of reaction in the middle of December, after a player hits an inconsequential free throw in the first half of some forgettable regular-season contest. But from somebody who had just drained the biggest shot of his life – a buzzer-beating, game-winning, season-saving, series-shifting dagger? Even Kawhi Leonard let out a primal scream after his iconic four-bouncer.
But that’s OG.
“I know he’s excited,” said Fred VanVleet, shortly after Anunoby’s walk-off three-pointer gave Toronto a 104-103 victory in Thursday’s Game 3, and new life in its second-round series with the Celtics, which Boston now leads 2-1.
“I think that’s just his nature. I don’t think he’s a guy that’s going to run around the court. I mean, that’s just not his personality. So, that was true OG form right there, to knock down the biggest shot of his life and act like nothing happened.”
What happened will ultimately go down as a seminal moment in the history of a franchise that has produced quite a few of them over the past 16 months. The Raptors were a half-second away from certain elimination. Their remarkable, feel-good season was on life support. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and it’s unlikely that they would have been the first.
Game 3 was a must-win, and after Kemba Walker’s spectacular pass set up a Daniel Theis dunk to put Boston in front by two points, it came down to one final possession and 0.5 seconds left on the clock.
The play was one that head coach Nick Nurse borrowed from an old Hubie Brown videotape. It was initially drawn up for VanVleet to take the shot, with Pascal Siakam as the second option. Appropriately, it was executed to perfection by the team’s two best and most important players on the night, and through the first three games of the series.
Gazing over the outstretched arms of the Celtics’ seven-foot-five giant Tacko Fall, who was brought in specifically to guard the inbound, six-foot Kyle Lowry sailed a perfectly thrown pass to an open Anunoby in the opposite corner. With Jaylen Brown closing out hard, Anunony – who barely had time to catch the ball – released a high-arcing jumper that danced around the inside of the rim and fell through the net.
In normal times, you would have felt the energy of the crowd – in this case, more than 19,000 Celtics fans gasp and groan, and Boston’s TD Garden would go eerily quiet. In the NBA bubble, players create the atmosphere, and in that very special moment, they all ran over to Anunoby to celebrate.
“When I took that shot I expected to make it,” said the ever-stoic 23-year-old. “I don’t shoot trying to miss. Every shot I shoot I try to make it. So, I wasn’t going to act surprised because I wasn’t surprised.”
“That’s OG’s moment, man,” Lowry said. “That’s a great moment for that kid and I’m so happy and so proud of him, man. Don’t take away – that pass was nothing, that shot was everything.”
“He’ll get a lot of text messages and he needs the credit. He deserves all the love and celebration he’s getting tonight, that kid works extremely hard and, like I said, it’s his moment. Let him live in it and then I’ll ruin it tomorrow when we’re watching film and I tell him what he messed up on.”
Humble as he may be, Lowry’s pass was impressive and, notably, the Raptors aren’t even in the position to win that game if not for their veteran point guard and most valuable player.
Lowry – who came into Game 3 shooting 10-for-28 in the series, including 1-for-12 from three-point range – got a text from a close friend earlier in the day.
It read: “Stop waiting”
“That was pretty much the game plan for me tonight,” said Lowry. “Just stop waiting and be aggressive from the jump. He was correct.”
Although his shot still wasn’t falling – he hit just two of his eight attempts – Lowry was in attack-mode early. He scored eight of Toronto’s first 10 points and 11 in the opening quarter – all of them coming in the restricted area or at the free-throw line.
The game was a slog. Eventually, the Raptors’ lockdown defence would clamp down, holding Boston to 38 per cent in the third quarter. At some point late in the evening, Siakam would get it going and the slumping VanVleet would knock in a pair of big threes.
But for most of the night, Lowry carried them on his 34-year-old shoulders, despite playing all but 90 seconds of the game, including the entire second half. Defending Brad Wanamaker at the rim late in the third quarter, Lowry took a knee to the midsection and crumpled to the court in pain. He played through it, and through the noticeable fatigue he was feeling in the final minutes, to put together an all-time performance.
“I mean, obviously I got balls of steel,” said Lowry, who put up a game-high 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting.
Nurse likened Lowry’s night to his masterpiece in last year’s title-clinching Game 6 win over Golden State.
The team’s performance was reminiscent of that double-overtime Game 3 win over Milwaukee in the Conference Finals. They were in a similar situation – down 0-2, fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. That could have been the end of the line, and at times it both looked and felt like it was going to be, but they found a way to pull it out and it sparked an unlikely turnaround – four straight wins and a trip to the NBA Finals.
“We’ve had a lot of gutsy performances from this crew,” said an emotional Nurse after the win. “It’s kind of what this group is. It’s Kyle and Fred and Pascal and Norm [Powell]. There are a lot of guys who have fought their whole lives to get to where they are, amid other expectations. We got to the half down 10, and just weren’t catching any breaks. The ball wasn’t going in. The ball was bouncing funny. It was just like, man, to reach in and find that gutsiness for that second half… I’m not sure that doesn’t rank up there with our gutsiest performances.”
After getting blown out by Boston in the series opener last weekend and then playing well enough to win but falling apart down the stretch of Game 2, the Raptors seemed down and out. It’s through Lowry’s sheer will and Anunoby’s clutch shot-making that they have this new life. Maybe this is what galvanizes them. Maybe this is what they needed to start feeling like the defending champions again.
“With all due respect to Brooklyn, I don’t think that got us ready to play at the level we needed to be ready for Game 1,” VanVleet said. “I think the transgressions of those few days, [not knowing] whether we were gonna sit or play, coupled in with laying that egg in Game 1 – it was a lot. Then we played our butts off in Game 2 and didn’t come out with a win. We expect a lot of ourselves, so to be down 0-2, I mean we knew it wasn’t over, but nobody was happy. People were pissed off, the mood wasn’t great. All we needed was one [win] to get the juice back, a little magic [to] get the momentum going on your side. We’ve got to try and tie this thing up Saturday.”
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.
