After the sweeps in the first round, both the Raptors and the Celtics were looking to bring their momentum into Game 1 of their semifinal series on Sunday afternoon. In the end, however, it was Boston who got the better of Toronto on Sunday in their opening game. Powered by 21 points each by Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart, the Celtics took a 112-94 win over the Raptors to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Kemba Walker recorded his first career post-season double with 18 points and 10 assists, and Jaylen Brown also added 17 points and five rebounds for Boston. In all, the Celtics had six double-digit players, including all five starters.
Kyle Lowry led the way in Toronto with 17 points, but only made 5 of his 12 attempts from the ground, in what has been a worrying trend for the entire Raptors team. Boston held Toronto at 36 percent shots from the field and 25 percent from long range and limited All-Star Pascal Siakam to just 13 out of 5 points for 16 shots. It was certainly a rough start for the Raptors, but they have experience falling behind at the start of a series. In last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, Toronto remained 2-0 behind Milwaukee. He then won four games in a row to secure a place in the finals. Toronto will now look to regroup and bounce back for Game 2 on Tuesday night.
