The defending NBA champions are on the ropes.
The Boston Celtics took a 2-0 series lead on the Toronto Raptors with a 102-99 victory in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday.
Toronto is now 1-5 against Boston in 2019-20, including regular-season play.
The Raptors started well, but the Celtics' ability to disrupt with their defense was evident as the game went on. Boston held Toronto to 40% shooting from the floor and just 27.5% from beyond the arc.
Momentum shifted late in the third quarter after Pascal Siakam was awarded a free throw following a foul by Marcus Smart - featuring one of the more egregious flops in recent NBA memory. Smart heated up offensively after that, hitting five threes in the fourth quarter as Boston went on a 22-9 run to take the lead.
As a team, the Celtics went 7-of-10 from deep in the fourth. At the same time, the Raptors went ice cold, going 1-of-10 from three in the final period.
Jayson Tatum had a game-high 34 points, including going 14-for-14 from the foul line. The Raptors didn't even reach the charity stripe in the first half.
The two teams will play Game 3 of the series Thursday.
