MONTREAL – The Toronto Raptors took advantage of Jayson Tatum’s third-quarter ejection and concluded pre-season action with a 137-134 overtime win over the Boston Celtics on Friday in front of a sold-out Bell Centre.
With Pascal Siakam on a rest day, O.G. Anunoby was Toronto’s shining light, picking up 32 points and six rebounds.
“He found the ball himself a lot and he got himself open and he got himself in the right situations,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse about Anunoby. “He’s got to continue to do that when (Siakam and Gary Trent Jr.) are on the floor.”
Toronto ended its pre-season with a 3-2 record and a second consecutive overtime win over Boston.
Down for most of the fourth quarter after consistently leading the previous three, the Celtics rallied in the final minutes. Looking to steal the game away from the Raptors and their home crowd away from home, Boston guard Payton Pritchard missed the potential game winner as regulation came to a close.
“Our unit that was out there, we did a good job of continuing to fight even after (Tatum’s ejection) happened,” said Celtics forward Grant Williams. “We got to execute a bit better to maybe take that stretch but I thought we competed.”
Khem Birch was the starting centre for the Raptors in his hometown. The Montrealer picked up four points, four rebounds and two assists.
“I think that it was special for him,” said Nurse. “He’s been fighting with me a little bit about minutes and an opportunity. And again, I thought he took advantage of it. He almost had a really perfect game. He was really playing on both ends, doing a lot of things.”
The Bell Centre crowd got an early opportunity to cheer on their local player when Birch drove to the net for a dunk in the first quarter.
“I thought he was a presence and that’s what he needs to be,” Nurse added. “He’s long, he’s athletic, he needs to be a hard-playing presence. I gotta feel him out there.”
Nurse was also impressed by the Montreal crowd, who energized both teams and “got their money’s worth” with a Raptors overtime victory.
“It’s always something that a pre-season game has that much energy and some of the stops we make,” Nurse said. “That is a big arena, I like how it goes up so fast. Even the people way up high are right on top of the court.”
The Celtics pulled away with a 12-point lead in the second quarter but Anunoby’s 25-point first half paced the Raptors as they bridged the gap. Boston held a 66-63 advantage at halftime thanks to Tatum (15), Jaylen Brown (12) and Derrick White (14) all finishing the half with double-figure scoring.
The game’s intensity surpassed pre-season standards when Tatum was ejected from the game after receiving a second technical foul with 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Toronto made a push and tied the game at 98-98 going into the fourth.
The Raptors pulled away with a seven-point advantage in the fourth quarter but Boston came back to take a 125-124 lead when Sam Hauser hit a three-point shot with 1:12 remaining.
Tied 127-127, Pritchard missed a potential game winner, sending the contest to overtime.
The Raptors rallied with 10 points in the extra frame and denied Boston’s last-ditch effort to close the win.
CANADIANS ON DECK
Alongside Birch, Dalano Banton was the Raptors’ second Canadian player on the court. The Toronto native tallied 13 points, four rebounds and three assists Entering his sophomore season, Banton is looking to make an impact off the bench.
“He’s doing good, he’s actually become a kind of secondary scorer,” Nurse said about Banton. “Probably the best things that I like are that he just looks way more comfortable out there (and) just in general, he’s really doing a good job of organizing the play calls and moving the pieces and things like that.”
Montreal native Chris Boucher did not play due to a left hamstring strain and remained in Toronto with a non-COVID illness. Mfiondu Kabengele was the lone Canadian for the visiting Celtics but did not play.
FINAL ROSTER SPOT
Forward Justin Champagnie made the final roster spot, the team announced Friday. Toronto waived forwards Gabe Brown, Josh Jackson and D.J. Wilson with its final roster cuts after the victory.
SOLD-OUT EVENT
Tickets for Friday’s game sold out in nine minutes. The Bell Centre hosted eight pre-season games as part of the NBA Canada Series. This was the first game played in Montreal since Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors took on the Brooklyn Nets in 2018.
UP NEXT
The Raptors will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in their season opener on Oct. 19 before going on a three-game road trip. The Celtics will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers for their season opener on Oct. 18.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2022.