LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Toronto Raptors were a half-second away from falling into the abyss that no NBA team has ever escaped. Down by two points, down by two games, the reigning champions needed a miracle.
OG Anunoby delivered.
Anunoby caught a cross-court pass that Kyle Lowry threaded over everybody else on the floor and hit a three-pointer as time expired, giving the Raptors a 104-103 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Thursday night.
The Celtics still lead the series 2-1. But it's not 3-0 -- and that means the Raptors still have realistic hope. The Raptors mobbed Anunoby after the shot, reveling in the moment.
"Someone hit me in the nose," Anunoby said. "It's cool."
The Celtics took a two-point lead when Kemba Walker found Daniel Theis for a dunk with a half-second left.
No team in NBA history has rallied from a 3-0 series deficit. The Raptors won't have to try it now; Lowry elected to audible and throw the long pass -- threading it over Boston's 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall, who was put in specifically to disrupt the inbounds play -- to Anunoby.
"The pass was nothing," Lowry said. "OG made the shot. All the credit goes to the shot, man. That's a tough shot. Give OG that credit. The pass was just to get it to a guy like OG. It's OG's moment, man. That's a great moment for that kid."
Lowry played virtually the whole way, finishing with 31 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Fred VanVleet scored 25 points, Pascal Siakam had 16 and Anunoby 12.
Walker scored 29 points for Boston, which lost for the first time in seven playoff games. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jayson Tatum finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists for the Celtics.
"It hurts and stings to lose," Celtics Coach Brad Stevens said. "But we'll just get back to it and get ready for Saturday."
Marc Gasol made a layup with 5:57 left for a four-point lead; the Celtics responded with the next eight points, going up 99-95 on a dunk by Brown with 3:02 remaining.
Lowry got a pair of layups, both drawing Toronto within two. The Raptors had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final half-minute, VanVleet getting an acrobatic layup to drop with 21.5 seconds left and knotting it at 101.
Theis' score put Toronto on the brink. Anunoby rescued the champs.
Toronto was clawing uphill most of the night. The Raptors were outscored 19-10 to close the half, a run that gave Boston a 57-47 lead at the break.
TORONTO (104)
Anunoby 4-8 1-2 12, Siakam 6-15 3-4 16, Gasol 5-9 0-1 10, Lowry 13-23 3-4 31, VanVleet 9-22 2-2 25, Ibaka 1-6 0-0 2, Powell 3-4 0-3 8, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 41-88 9-16 104.
BOSTON (103)
Brown 9-15 1-2 19, Tatum 5-18 4-6 15, Theis 4-7 1-2 9, Smart 4-15 1-2 11, Walker 9-15 7-7 29, Ojeleye 1-1 0-0 3, Williams 2-5 0-0 5, Williams III 1-2 1-1 3, Fall 0-0 0-0 0, Kanter 2-2 0-0 4, Wanamaker 2-3 1-1 5. Totals 39-83 16-21 103.
Toronto.............28192928--104
Boston..............33242323--103
3-Point Goals--Toronto 13-40 (VanVleet 5-13, Anunoby 3-5, Powell 2-3, Lowry 2-8, Siakam 1-4, Gasol 0-3, Ibaka 0-3), Boston 9-29 (Walker 4-7, Smart 2-9, Williams 1-3, Tatum 1-4, Brown 0-2, Theis 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Toronto 39 (Anunoby 10), Boston 44 (Brown 12). Assists--Toronto 23 (Lowry 8), Boston 21 (Tatum 6). Total Fouls--Toronto 20, Boston 16.
CLIPPERS 120, NUGGETS 97
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and Los Angeles rolled past Denver in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul George scored 19 points and Marcus Morris added 18. The Clippers shot 57% from the floor.
Nikola Jokic scored 15 points for the Nuggets, who were coming off a seven-game series with Utah that ended Tuesday.
Jamal Murray, who averaged 31.6 points in the first round and scored at least 50 points twice in that series, finished with just 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Denver shot just 42%.
The Clippers took charge in the second quarter, outscoring the Nuggets 38-20 to take a 69-51 lead at halftime.
DENVER (97)
Grant 4-8 1-2 12, Millsap 3-6 6-8 13, Jokic 6-14 3-4 15, Harris 2-5 0-0 5, Murray 5-15 0-0 12, Bates-Diop 0-1 1-2 1, Bol 1-1 1-2 4, Craig 2-3 1-2 6, Dozier 3-6 0-0 6, Porter Jr. 2-9 1-1 5, Plumlee 1-2 2-4 4, Daniels 1-2 0-0 2, Morris 5-11 2-2 12. Totals 35-83 18-27 97.
LA CLIPPERS (120)
Leonard 12-16 4-4 29, Morris Sr. 7-10 0-0 18, Zubac 2-3 0-0 4, Beverley 3-5 0-0 8, George 6-13 5-7 19, Mann 2-3 0-0 4, Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Green 3-6 0-0 7, Harrell 5-11 5-6 15, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, McGruder 1-2 0-0 2, Shamet 2-6 0-0 4, Williams 5-9 0-0 10. Totals 48-84 14-17 120.
Denver..............31201630--97
LA Clippers........31382229--120
3-Point Goals--Denver 9-36 (Grant 3-6, Murray 2-8, Craig 1-2, Millsap 1-3, Harris 1-4, Jokic 0-2, Morris 0-3, Porter Jr. 0-6), LA Clippers 10-24 (Morris Sr. 4-5, Beverley 2-3, George 2-7, Leonard 1-2, Green 1-3, Shamet 0-2, Williams 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Denver 40 (Millsap 9), LA Clippers 45 (George, Green, Zubac 7). Assists--Denver 20 (Murray 6), LA Clippers 23 (George, Williams 4). Total Fouls--Denver 21, LA Clippers 24.
At a glance
NBA PLAYOFFS
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-7)
THURSDAY’S GAME
Toronto 104, Boston 103
Boston leads series 2-1
LA Clippers 120, Denver 97
Clippers lead series 1-0
TODAY’S GAMES
All times Central
Milwaukee vs. Miami, 5:30 p.m.
Miami leads series 2-0
Houston vs. LA Lakers, 8 p.m.
First game of series