NBA Playoffs: Boston Celtics make short work of Toronto Raptors in Game 1

The Boston Celtics put their first exclamation mark in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In the 112-94 victory, the Celts dominated the action from the start and never let the Toronto Raptors get into a rhythm. The reigning champion disappoints across the board (here are the highlights of the game).

Toronto Raptors (2) – Boston Celtics (3) 94:112 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 0-1

Boston convinced with a strong team performance, the team’s top scorer was Jayson Tatum with 21 points (9/18 FG) and 9 rebounds. In addition, Kemba Walker caused major problems for the Raptors Defense with 18 points and 10 assists.

Walker also sank 4 threes (in 7 attempts) and thus seamlessly joined an excellent shooting performance of the Celts. Boston pocketed a total of 17 triples in 39 attempts (43.6 percent). The Raptors Defense often left the shooters wide open, especially from the corners Boston got good looks (10/15 corner threes).

Marcus Smart (21, 5/9 threesomes) or Jaylen Brown (17) also sank their throws, Daniel Theis also convinced with a double-double (13 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks – here are his highlights in the video) and partly strong defense. Robert Williams, the first big off the bench, also did a good job (10 and 5).

The latter could hardly be said about a raptor, especially the starters largely disappointed. Pascal Siakam (13, 5/16 FG) could not see the entire game over anything, Kyle Lowry (17, 5/12 FG) only increased the pressure late. Boston managed well to give Toronto no easy points in the transition, while there was hardly a throw in the half field (10/40 threesome, 25 percent).

Besides Siakam, Fred VanVleet also had big problems, who only scored 3 of his 16 attempts (11 points, 8 assists and 6 steals). The Raptors never got into a rhythm that way, and the week-long break didn’t seem to have been particularly good for the Canadians. Besides Lowry, Serge Ibaka was the best scorer with 15 points from the bench. The Raptors will now seek revenge in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Raptors mit katastrophalem Start – Boston dominant

Both teams went into the game with their usual starting five, and Lowry also reported fit in good time after his ankle problems. Against the offensive dilemma that Toronto experienced in the first quarter, the Guard could do little. Numerous turnovers (6 in the first round) favored a 16-2 run by the Celts, who punished the opponent’s ball losses with a three-point after the other.

Siakam in particular got off to a bad start, and he also had problems against smaller but physical defenders like Smart. Only 1 of his first 5 attempts to throw ended up in the basket, and he had to hit the bench relatively quickly with three fouls. Boston moved up to 19 points, only with a zone defense at the beginning of the second quarter Toronto posed a few problems for the Celtics.

So the reigning champion gradually fought his way back a bit within striking distance, but the Canadians couldn’t knock over the buck. After an inconspicuous first section, Tatum found his rhythm better (8 points in the second quarter) and quickly led Boston away again. On the other hand, it stayed the same: Toronto didn’t hit a barn door. In the first half, the Raptors only sank a weak 28.9 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from downtown (5/24 threesome). Accordingly, at half-time, after a deep buzzer beater from Kemba, they were 42:59 behind.