Getty Images Jaylen Brown reacts during the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors in Game 6
There isn’t an NBA head coach quite as animated as Toronto Raptors’ Nick Nurse.
Nurse’s in-your-face while running up and down the sideline style is definitely his thing, this isn’t exclusively reserved for playoff showdowns. However, his demeanor to constantly get into his players’ ears from the sideline is what Nurse would call doing whatever it takes to win but in Wednesday night’s Game 6 matchup between the Raptors and Celtics it was a distraction for All-Star Jayson Tatum.
The play happened late in the fourth quarter of the Raptors’ 125-122 double-overtime win when Tatum made his move to attack the rim and threw a pass to the corner where there wasn’t a player to be found. Instead, we saw the Raptors head coach side-skip to his right, out of the way of the ball, and a crucial Celtics turnover.
Interesting move here from Nick Nurse:
Tatum, who was asked about the errant pass, addressed if Nurse’s presence on the sideline led to the costly turnover.
“I mean, I turned it over,” Tatum said. “This was my fault. Can’t blame Nick Nurse, he’s not playing. It was my fault.”
Jaylen Brown Calls Out Nick Nurse
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to let the mishap slide.
“I think it’s a lot of emotions,” Brown said Wednesday night. “It’s very intense and things like that and sometimes things seem to go overboard at times. Let’s keep it up in check, let’s keep it respectable, and let’s keep playing basketball. Grown men should be able to control themselves, especially coaching staff. So, let’s continue to do what we gotta do; play basketball and be ready to fight.”
Nurse standing by the sideline isn’t uncommon amongst NBA coaches, however, if you review the replay, you’ll notice he’s close enough that you can see his feet touch the sideline.
How It Went Down In Double-OT
Still, Boston had another opportunity to close out Toronto. The Celtics’ greatest chance to send the Raptors home Wednesday night came at the end of regulation with the game tied at 96.
Kemba Walker weaved through traffic towards the rim and missed a contested game-winning layup that fell off the rim and was tapped out-of-bounce with less than a tick left on the game clock. From there, the Raptors battled one overtime period after another – in both frames, Toronto trailed by one or two possessions over four times but converted crucial shots down the stretch while coming up with big defensive stops.
Norman Powell, who earned himself big minutes Wednesday night, played a huge role in Toronto salvaging its season. After missing the potential game-winner at the end of the first overtime off of an isolation play that was designed for Powell to take the last shot, he turned it on in the additional OT.
He netted 10 second-overtime points, including a big 3 that erased the Raptors’ three-point deficit with only 1:23 left to play and converted a 3-point play in transition that made it a two-possession game (121-117) with 38.8 seconds to spare.
Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 33 points on 12-of-20, including 6-of-10 from deep. He was masterful, his defensive stops were critical along with his transition plays and timely buckets, including his dagger 14-foot jumper that pushed the Raptors’ lead to four (123-119) with only 11.7 seconds left in the second extra period.
Fred VanVleet scored 21 points, Powell added 23 off the bench and OG Anunoby finished with a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds). The champion Raptors will look to finish the job in Game 7 Friday night in its win-or-go-home duel.
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