NBA: Statement! Kawhi and Lowry make Boston despair

The Toronto Raptors have impressively won the first test of strength with Boston Celtics. With the 113-101 victory of the Canadians, the decision was made late in the fourth quarter when Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry turned up the heat.

The Celtics started with the same formation that defeated the Sixers to the start. Raptors coach Nick Nurse replaced Jonas Valanciunas with Serge Ibaka on the centre position. He also scored the first four Raptors points. At Celtics the ball ran very well, only the throws didn’t want to fall yet. However, as Toronto’s starters gradually took to the bench, the hosts’ offense came to a halt and the visitors mercilessly took advantage of that to take a 25-18 lead after a quarter.

Kawhi Leonard had been inconspicuous until then and only scored his first points in the second section with a casual, but the effort could not be denied him because he tried again and again to use his teammates. Now the claw energetically pulled again and again to the basket, but too often the strong Al Horford came to an end. The Celtics scored a few more triples towards the end of the first half and took a 53-49 lead into the dressing room.

Brad Stevens, as against Philly Gordon Hayward, left Hayward on the bench after the change, so Marcus Morris slipped into the team. Kawhi took over from Toronto and became more and more self-confident, scoring 10 of his team’s first 12 points. Since he also pulled a lot of fouls, the Raptors were quickly in the bonus and in the middle of the quarter after a long time also once again in the lead.

Now a blows exchange with open visor developed, since Boston with Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum held against it. The break in Toronto’s game came again, however, when the reservists came piece by piece on the field. Although Fred VanVleet did some plays now, Hayward showed some strong actions for Boston and almost reminded of old jazz times.

But the Raptors went into the final phase with a small lead, because many Celtics attempts were now too short. Toronto, on the other hand, continued to rely on Leonard, who had to be doubled by Boston in Crunchtime. But Kyle Lowry made the preliminary decision by pulling the offensive foul against Tatum and sinking the triumvirate on the other side (107:99). This was all part of a 10-0 run that finally pulled the Celtics’ tooth and caused the hall to quake.

Leonard finally scored 31 points and 10 rebounds. Most of the support came from Ibaka (21), who visibly felt comfortable in the center role. Lowry (15, 6 assists) was offensively solid (in the fourth quarter grandios) and most of the time busy defending Irving (21, 10/20 FG). This time Uncle Drew had more touch than against Philly, but couldn’t make his mark on the game. The other Celtics starters also scored in double figures, with Horford (14, 10 boards, 9 dimes) only just passing a triple double. Tatum contributed another 16 points and 9 rebounds, Daniel Theis did not play this time.

Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics 113:101 (BOXSCORE)

Kawhi Leonard. His debut was still a little rusty and Leonard also started bumpy against Boston, but from the second quarter at the latest there was no doubt that this team now belongs to him. Again and again the Raptors looked for the Forward, who mostly created good things for himself or his fellow players. Leonard marked 22 of his 31 points after the change, paving the way for Toronto to win.

Terry Rozier. After the break he dived away completely, although coach Brad Stevens gave him a lot of confidence in the fourth quarter and let Jaylen Brown stew on the bench for it. But Scary Terry couldn’t use that opportunity. Stay without points in the second half, which finally brought him to 8 points (2/7 FG) and 5 rebounds.

Raptors Coach Nick Nurse, as in the opening match against the Cavs, largely bet on a pure bench unit, meaning that Leonard and Lowry got a break at the same time. This was not conducive to the Raptors’ game, as the offense against the dreaded Celtics defence did not come into play at all. But even after the break Nurse stuck to this strategy, even though the Celtics with Irving and Hayward were two heavyweights on the opposite side of the field. Thanks to VanVleet, the Raptors survived this phase reasonably unscathed.