MANILA, Philippines – OG Anunoby was the hero for the Toronto Raptors after hitting a game-winner against the Boston Celtics, 104-103, in Game Three of their NBA playoff series on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
After receiving a wide inbound pass from Kyle Lowry, Anunoby hit a Hail Mary 3-pointer from the corner with 0.5 left in the clock to push the defending champions to the win and avoided a 0-3 series deficit.
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This erased a would-be game-winning dunk from Boston's Daniel Theis that gave the Celtics a 103-101 in the dying seconds of the game.
The Raptors made it a series after losing their first two matchups with the Celtics.
Lowry, who threw the perfect inbound pass over seven-footer Tacko Fall, top-scored for the Raptors with 25 points. Anunoby tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.
The Raptors aim to tie the series in Game Four on Saturday (Sunday, Manila).
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers made easy work of the Denver Nuggets in Game One of the Western Conference semifinals clash, 120-97.
Gassed from their recently concluded seven-game series vs the Utah Jazz, the Nuggets couldn't keep pace with the Clippers.
After leaving the game tied at 31 at the end of the first quarter, the Clippers outscored the Nuggets by 18 in the second and just didn't look back until the final buzzer.
The Clippers led as much as 29 points in the game.
Kawhi Leonard paced the Clippers with 29 points while Paul George chipped 19.
Nikola Jokic was the lone bright spot for the Nuggets with 15 points.