The Boston Celtics had no business winning Saturday night, and judging by the trends, there was no reason to believe they could.
So much for that.
The Celtics stormed back to defeat the Toronto Raptors 117-116 on the road in overtime in one of the team’s most thrilling wins of the season. The victory was a crucial one, too, moving the Celtics into the Eastern Conference’s eighth playoff spot and within a game of earning the No. 7 seed.
However, it wasn’t easy. The Celtics had to storm back after falling behind early in the game. Boston also had a tough time slowing the Toronto offense. Add it all up, and it’s difficult to believe the C’s escaped with a win, especially when you consider the following from Celtics play-by-play radio man Sean Grande.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/584631127958298624 align=’center’]
Let’s go over a few notes from the dramatic win.
— The Celtics put the ball in Isaiah Thomas’ hands on their final possession, but it was Marcus Smart who played the role of hero after cleaning up the second-chance opportunity on Thomas’ missed shot. Although maybe it was a pass?
“It was a missed shot, but I said ‘good pass’ to him,” Smart told reporters, according to NBA.com.
— Here’s another look at that play.
— Evan Turner filled up the stat sheet yet again Saturday night with 18 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. He’s averaging nearly 14 points, six rebounds and almost eight assists per game over the last 10 games.
— The Celtics are now a ridiculous 10-1 on the second half of back-to-backs since Jan. 21.
— Smart summed up the Celtics’ psyche pretty well after the game.
“It’s just the will, the determination,” Smart told reporters, according to ESPN.com. “The guys on this team, we’re competitors, heavy competitors. We don’t like to lose that much, especially when we come off a night where we didn’t play that well.”
— The Celtics now have just five games left to play, and it’s not an easy slate. Boston is off until Wednesday when it goes to Detroit. The C’s then have a home-and-home with the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers, then a home date the Raptors, and they’ll end the season on the road against Milwaukee.
Thumbnail photo via Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports Images
