ORLANDO (Florida) • The Toronto Raptors had won only one of four games against the Boston Celtics in the 2019-20 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season.
On Thursday night, they were half a second away from losing their third straight game to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Down by two points and two games, the reigning NBA champions needed someone to conjure up some magic to break this curse.
Up stepped O.G. Anunoby.
The British-Nigerian Raptors forward drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer, as Toronto resuscitated their NBA title defence with a 104-103 victory over Boston.
Kyle Lowry, tasked with inbounding the ball with half a second on the clock and the Raptors down 103-101, lofted a perfect arcing pass over Boston's towering Tacko Fall to Anunoby on the opposite sideline.
Anunoby set his feet and fired, and the Raptors narrowed the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series to 2-1.
"I expected to make it. I don't shoot trying to miss... I wasn't surprised," said Anunoby, who was mobbed by his teammates.
The Raptors avoided a 0-3 hole - from which no NBA team has come back to win a post-season series.
"The pass was nothing. O.G. made the shot," said Lowry, who led the Raptors with 31 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
"All the credit goes to the shot, man. That's a tough shot. Give O.G. that credit."
Fred VanVleet scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and Pascal Siakam scored 14 of his 16 after the interval while Anunoby contributed 12 points for the Raptors, who battled back from a 57-47 half-time deficit.
"We scrapped and clawed and fought," said Lowry. "We never quit."
In a fourth quarter that saw seven lead changes - neither team up by more than four points - Boston looked set to take a stranglehold on the series when centre Daniel Theis, fed by Kemba Walker's savvy pass through traffic, slammed home a dunk for a 103-101 lead with 0.5 second on the clock.
During the ensuing timeout, Boston brought in Fall, who tops out at 2.26m, to defend the inbounds play, but he could not hold back the 2019 champions.
"Much credit to those guys. That was a hell of a shot," said Boston's Walker, who led the Celtics with 29 points. Jaylen Brown added 19 with 12 rebounds and Jayson Tatum chipped in 15, but Boston have a series on their hands now.
Game 4 is today and Celtics coach Brad Stevens has urged his side to be on their toes for the clash. "It hurts and stings to lose," he said. "But we'll just get back to it and get ready for Saturday."
The Raptors, meanwhile, will be building on momentum but Lowry has warned his teammates not to get ahead of themselves after this vital victory.
"One game at a time," he said of the Raptors' mindset as they look to level the series in the NBA's Covid-19 quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.
"Great emotional moment right there (but) that's over. Now we have to focus on the next game."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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West s-finals, Game 1
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