Here comes the Toronto Raptors. After letting the Boston Celtics race to a 2-0 lead in their seven-game series, the Raptors finally caught a break to cut their series deficit down in half. Will the Raptors tie it all up in Game 4? Or will the Celtics get back to their winning ways? Check out our preview of this game below.
The Celtics were so close to going up 3-0 in the series, but the basketball gods have other plans, as Boston took a 104-103 loss in Game 3. That loss has magnified the focus on Jayson Tatum’s underwhelming performance in Game 3, as he scored 15 points on just 5-of-15 shooting from the field. Tatum was doing well, heading into that game, so hopefully for the Celtics, it was just a case of an off night for the former Duke Blue Devils star. Tatum still leads the Celtics in the second round with 23.3 points per game, though, his shooting efficiency has to go up. He’s currently at 41.5 field goal percentage through three games against Toronto. Meanwhile, Kemba Walker scored 29 points in Game 3, 17 in the first quarter, on 9-of-15 shooting. Despite the loss, the Celtics’ defense has yet to allow more than 104 points in a game in this series.
The Celtics are 5-1 against the spread in their last six games as the road team.
We can’t talk about Game 3 of this series without mentioning the huge, game-winning, and probably series-saving 3-pointer by OG Anunoby. But it would not have also been possible without Kyle Lowry’s precise inbound pass. While Anunoby drained the game’s biggest shot, it was Lowry who had the best game among all Raptors, as the veteran point guard finished with a game-high 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field. Fred VanVleet also came alive with 25 points with five 3-pointers. The Raptors should now be feeling less of the pressure, having prevented falling down the 0-3 hole. With momentum now on their side again, the Raptors are expecting Pascal Siakam to perform like an All-Star again on offense. Siakam shot just 6 for 15 in Game 3 for 16 points, but finished plus-12. Toronto’s 3-point shooting also improved in Game 3, knocking down 13 of 40 attempts from deep. That’s only good for 32.5 percent, but at least that’s the best they’ve shot from behind the arc so far in the series.
The under is 3-0 in the Raptors’ last three games as the home team.
