NBA Hoosiers (Sept. 5): OG Anunoby's Late Free Throws Help Raptors Even Series

The defending champion Toronto Raptors are right back in their second-round series after a Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics, and OG Anunoby has been a big reason why.

OG Anunoby knows all about heroics, and he and his Toronto Raptors weren't about to watch it from the other side on Saturday night. Instead, they made several big defensive stops down the stretch and beat the Boston Celtics 100-93 in Game 4 of their second-round Eastern Conference series, which is now tied at 2-2.

Toronto, the defending NBA champions, were on the verge of getting swept before Anunoby hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win Game 3. Now they are right back in the series.

Anunoby played 35 minutes and scored 11 points. He was 3-for-7 shooting, and 2-for-3 from three-point range. Toronto had a double-digit lead in the second half, but the Celtics cut it to five in the final minute. Anunoby made two free throws with 26.8 seconds left to make it a three-possession game.

The difference in this game came from behind the three-point line. Toronto made 17 three-pointers while Boston was just 7-for-35 from deep (20 percent), their lowest shooting percentage of the playoffs.

"You need to make some 3s and you need to stop them from making a bunch, and that’s really been the story of the games," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. "I don’t know if it is as simple as that or not, but it kind of feels like it right now."

Boston rookie Romeo Langford dressed for the Celtics, but the former Indiana rookie did not play in Game 4. The series resumes on Monday, with Game 5's tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET

Saturday's Other NBA Game

• Denver Nuggets 110, Los Angeles Clippers 101: Denver looked liked a completely different team in Game 2, and handily defeated the Clippers to square up their second-round Western Conference series last 1-1. Jamal Murray, who had two 50-points games in an exhausting first-round series win over Utah, led the way with 27 points. "Game 1, I hate to admit it, but we were tired,'' Murray said. "Tonight, we had good energy, We talked more, we helped out more, our one-on-one defense was better. We made shots.'' Former Hoosier Noah Vonleh is on the Denver roster, but he did not dress for Game. 2. The series resumes on Monday night with the Game 3 tipoff at 9 p.m. ET.

Sunday's NBA Games

• Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 3:30 p.m. ET (TV: ABC): The stunner of the playoffs so far is that the top-seeded Bucks are down 3-0 in this second-round series and are on the verge of going home. The Heat, who also swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round, had a great plan to deal with MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and they've executed it to perfection. He's averaging only 20.3 points per game, is shooting just 15.4 percent from three-point range (2-for-13) and just 54 percent (20-for-37) from the free throw line. He also aggravated an ankle injury in Friday's Game 3 loss, and is question for Sunday's game.
• Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 8;30 p.m. ET (TV: ABC): Former Hoosier Eric Gordon scored 23 points in the opener and did a great job defending LeBron James in the Rockets' Game 1, and it's going to be interesting to see if they can do it again. The Lakers, favorites to win the NBA title this season, also lost the first game of their first-round series, but then won four in a row. Gordon is averaging 18.8 points per game in the playoffs.