Game 7 here we come.
Kyle Lowry (game-high 33 points) hit every shot he needed to to keep Toronto in the playoffs and the Celtics lost a double-overtime thriller 125-122 in Game 6.
Despite the loss, the Celtics got impressive games from Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum. Brown led the way with 31 points and 16 rebounds. Smart put up a triple-double with 23 points, had 11 rebounds and 10 assists while Tatum scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished nine assists.
Kemba Walker struggled for the Celtics, posting just five points on 2-of-11 shooting before the end of regulation.
The shooting came early for the Celtics and helped them build a lead in the first quarter. Brown started hot, shooting 2-of-3 from 3-point range and leading Boston with 11 points in the frame. Smart wasn’t far behind, shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point land with nine points in the first. The Celtics held a 25-21 lead going into the second.
Brown stayed red-hot in the second quarter, scoring 10 more points in the frame and willing the Celtics to as high as a 12-point lead in the frame. Tatum had just five points midway through the second quarter but made an impact on the boards with nine first-half rebounds.
The Celtics held a 10-point lead in the final minutes of the second quarter but some clutch 3-pointers from Kyle Lowry (team-high 15 first-half points) and Norman Powell helped cut the Boston lead down to 52-48 before the half.
In the third quarter, a frame the Celtics have had trouble in a handful of recent games, the Raptors were able to flip the script. Fred VanVleet scored nine-straight to put Toronto out front in the third, a slim lead they held onto through much of the quarter. Meanwhile Walker struggled to produce for Boston with just 3 points and a pair of assists through three quarters. Toronto took a 81-77 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Celtics got back into things early on in the fourth, capping off a run with back-to-back 3-pointers from Smart and Tatum to go ahead 89-88 and force a Raptors timeout.
But Lowry responded himself with his own pair of 3’s, putting the Raptors back up by five midway through the fourth.
The Raptors held on for the lead before the Celtics clawed back into things and tied things up at 98-98 with less than a minute to play.
Walker had one final drive to try to lay in a game winner in the final seconds but his layup fell short and possession switched to the Raptors who also couldn’t hit a game winner in the final seconds.
The overtime period was a back-and-forth frame with the Raptors taking a slight lead in the final minute of play.
Down by two, Boston has one final chance to even things up, gaining possession with 19.6 to go and drawing up an inbound play. Brown took advantage, drawing a foul and hitting a pair of free throws to tie things up at 106-106 with 18.9 to play and force a second overtime period.
Both teams traded big plays and big shots in the second overtime, with things tied up 115-115 with 1:20 to go.
But the Raptors got hot in the final minutes. OG Anunoby started things off, hitting a 3-pointer to put Toronto up by one and Powell followed that with a steal and an and-one to put the Raptors up 121-117. One possession later, Lowry hit the dagger on a fade away shot to put the Raptors ahead 123-119.
Tatum came down court and nailed a clutch 3-pointer but the Raptors hit their free throws and got the job done to force a Game 7 with the 125-122 win.
Game 7 is scheduled for Friday (TBA).