Boston 94, Toronto 87
Sweet Eddie Harris in heaven, what a game.
The easy misconception is that the Toronto Raptors raced out to an early lead mainly because the upstart Raptors cared, and the defending champions from Boston needed to be prodded with a stick before competing. Hogwash. The Celtics cared, they tried, they worked, and they were bested. Boston made some mistakes, no doubt, but Toronto took that first half lead because they were outplaying the champs.
And after that, the champs acted like champs. Wouldn't even let Chris Bosh get to the strong side, much less allow him the ball in triple-threat position. Taunted the seemingly ultracool Jose Calderon into a finger-pointing frenzy. Boston had Toronto not talking, and while that is incredibly grammatically incorrect, it's also the truth. The Raptors couldn't keep up, they could make decisions on the fly, they couldn't think on their feet, and they weren't pushing each other into the positions needed to advance.
There's no shame in that, in November. Toronto hasn't been through this sort of wringer before, and this can't help but aid in the team's growth. And give the cats credit: Toronto hung in there. The ball was moving. Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono were nailing impossible shots. Jose Calderon didn't back down. Jermaine O'Neal tried. They were just up against the champs.
If none of this makes sense, understand that the Raptors raced out to an early double-digit lead with Boston missing more than a few shots they usually make, but mostly because the Toronto defense was forcing Boston into perimeter looks that were semi-passable but not something any team should bank on.
Toronto, on the other end, went to Jermaine O'Neal early and often. JON took a few shots he shouldn't have (one jumper off an offensive rebound with 22 seconds on the shot clock left kind of said it all), but he was effective, and killing the C's. The lead usually stayed at 15.
Slowly, the Celtics got back into it. Two stops in a row instead of one. Three scores in a row instead of two. Things got manageable, and then Paul Pierce got real, real unmanageable. He played the entire second half, and had 25 points over the final 15 minutes of the game. Drives, pull-ups, three-pointers, nonsense. Just the Truth at his best. Jason Kapono seemed to get a lot of it, but all the Raptors got a taste.
The other thing that stood out was Chris Bosh's honest-to-goodness disappearing act in the second half. He had three points (nine in the game), but didn't score in the fourth quarter. Didn't even take a shot. And, honestly, I don't know how any mortal man could have. Sure, Sam Mitchell should have probably come up with a counter play or three, but Kevin Garnett was absolutely all over Bosh during that final frame. It was sick. It was scary. It was fantastic.
And in the end, I'm more impressed with the Raptors in the loss. Even though they were up by 15. Even as they couldn't get their franchise stud a shot in the final quarter of a close game. This team now has something to build on. The goal, and EXACTLY what there is to overcome ... it's become clearer.
Toronto knew before this game that they had to overcome Boston in order to take that next step. Now they know how. That doesn't mean the Raptors will be able to do it, or that the team is any closer than it was before Monday's loss. But at least the blueprint is there. That's significant.
Even though we lost, just the fact we stayed in there is garnering us some respect.
Even the losses matter.
Mods: If you wish to merge this into another thread, please go ahead.
