Celtics notes: Raptors enter history of playoff buzzer-beaters
The Toronto Raptors had never won a playoff game with a shot at the buzzer until last year.
Kawhi Leonard sent the Raptors into the Eastern Conference finals when his bid from the corner bounced off the rim four times before dropping in, eliminating the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the second round.
One year later, the Raptors added another last-second, winning shot when OG Anunoby stunned the Celtics with an open corner 3-point at the buzzer, giving Toronto a Game 3 victory in the second round on Thursday night.
According to basketball-reference.com, the Raptors are only the fourth team in NBA history to win postseason games at the buzzer in back-to-back years and the first since the Celtics a decade ago.
In 2009, in Game 4 of a second-round series against the Orlando Magic, Glen Davis took a pass from Paul Pierce and scored at the buzzer for a 95-94 victory.
Davis had also scored with 32.5 seconds remaining to give the Celtics a one-point lead, but Rashard Lewis put the Magic up with two free throws with 11.3 seconds remaining.
In 2010, Pierce made a 21-footer at time expired in Game 3 of an opening-round series against the Miami Heat, putting the Celtics up, 3-0, with a 100-98 win.
Pierce took advantage of the chance to hit the winner after Dwyane Wade missed a shot with 13.9 seconds to play.
The other two teams to have buzzer-beating shots to win playoff games in back-to-back years are the Chicago Bulls (1993 and 1994) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1962-64).
The Bulls’ winning shots came from Michael Jordan and Toni Kukoc, while the Lakers won games at the buzzer when Jerry West connected in 1962 and 1963, and Elgin Baylor scored as time ran out in 1964.
The Celtics, who resumed their series against the Raptors with Game 4 on Saturday night, broke down defensively with just 0:00.5 left on the clock. Anunoby was allowed to slip into the left corner where he took a cross-court pass from Kyle Lowry and got the shot off before Jaylen Brown could get to him.
While his teammates enthusiastically crowded around Anunoby to celebrate, he reacted as if he had just hit a shot in pregame warmups instead of a playoff game-winner.
“That has to be one of the most classic reactions of all time,’’ Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I remember one other similar thing. It was Larry Bird as a coach (with the Indiana Pacers), and it was probably Reggie Miller who hit a step-back three or something to win a game.
“Larry Bird didn’t even move. He didn’t blink. I remember that as another classic reaction to a game-winning shot.’’
The Raptors were originally going to pass the ball inbounds to Fred VanVleet, but when Lowry, who was guarded by 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall, saw Anunoby all alone on the other side of the court, the play changed.
“We know Boston does a great job with their inbounds,’’ Lowry said. “Coach (Brad) Stevens is one hell of a (out of timeout) offensive and defensive guy. I was just waiting for the right moment. I saw Jaylen Brown step up a little bit on Marc (Gasol). I had to make a precise pass to a heck of a shooter.’’
As impressive as the shot by Anunoby was, the ability to Lowry to deliver perfect pass with Fall standing in front of him was clutch as well.
“There’s not a lot of times you probably want a 6-foot-1 guard taking the ball out of bounds in a late-game situation because you saw what (the Celtics) can do,’’ said Nurse. “They tried to put size on him and limit your vision. You say to me, why is Kyle taking it out, I’m going to say, because he’s got some guts. You’ve got to make a gutsy play every now and then.’’
Center of attention
Enes Kanter, who played a key role off the bench in the series against the Philadelphia 76ers, was a DNP the opening two games against the Raptors before playing 4:06 in Game 3.
His spot in the rotation has gone to Robert Williams, who received little playing time in the opening round. Stevens has been going by matchups to determine who plays in the middle with the second unit.
Kanter has been seen giving support to Williams and his other teammates from the bench.
“We discuss it all the time, every game, really,’’ Williams said of the changing roles. “We know what matchup we need and what matchup works against teams. Before the Philly series, I just told him to be ready because you’ve got what we need. We just try to keep each other up.’’
Injury report
Gordon Hayward (right ankle sprain) and Javonte Green (right knee surgery) remained unavailable for Game 4 while Tremont Waters (left knee sprain) was upgraded to questionable after being out. … Center Vincent Poirier is not with the team after the birth of his daughter and he will have to quarantine before rejoining the Celtics. … Game 4 is on Labor Day starting at 6:30 p.m. … According to ESPN Stats & Info, this is only the second time there have been two winning shots at the buzzer in one postseason. Luka Doncic beat the Los Angeles Clippers at the buzzer in the first round last month. The other time it happened was 1997 when John Stockton and Eddie Johnson won games in the final second.