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Get ready for the two greatest words in professional sports: Kyle Lowry Game Seven
The reigning, defending NBA champions refuse to give up their throne and live to fight another day. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 60 points and 30 rebounds. Marcus Smart actually shot better than his Game 2 performance (with a triple-double to boot). Daniel Theis had a career playoff-high 18 points. The Celtics did everything they could to finish the series.
Yet, the champs prevailed!
Enjoy the latest episode as we gleefully broke down how the Raptors forced a deciding Game 7 on our virtual home floor.
In This Episode:
2:05 — Quadruple bypass game
It goes without saying that the fourth victory in a best-of-seven is the hardest to achieve. Give credit to the Celtics for throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the Raptors. It wasn’t an easy game on the heart, but that’s the exact location you never underestimate of a champion.
4:10 — Playoff P
Norman Powell did it again! When the Raptors needed a spark, Playoff P came through. Don’t let the NBA record for longest Eastern Conference Player of the Week fool you — Powell’s a playoff performer. This is now his fourh playoff season with a signature “Norm Game.”
8:20 — Small ball
Norm’s emergence allowed Nick Nurse to unleash his small ball lineup with Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Powell, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby. Even though Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol had solid offensive games, they were getting exposed on the defensive end and constantly leading Boston corner threes.
10:45 — G.R.O.A.T.
The Raptors go as Lowry does. Plain and simple. He’s spent his whole career playing second fiddle. The expectation was that he’d play Robin to Siakam’s Batman, but, thankfully for Raptors fans, it’s been quite the opposite.
12:50 — Spicier than you think
Before you slander Siakam for his 5-of-19 shooting, re-watch the game and only focus on Siakam on the defensive end. Nurse called him out for not playing to his capabilities. Little did we know he was referring to Pascal’s sloppy Game 5 defense. Look out for him in what’s sure to be an epic Game 7!