Toronto Raptors – Boston Celtics · NBA

Win probability changed during the game. · 3 September 2020

TOR104–103BOS

Is it worth watching?

Highly recommended

It was more exciting than 90% of NBA games since 2017

· It was still open in the final minutes
· The win probability swung between the two teams 25 times
· It stayed close for almost the whole game

It measures how much the win probability moved during the game —without looking at who won or at the score— and compares it with the 10,950 NBA games with a curve since 2017. “Highly recommended” is the most intense 20%, “recommended” runs from 50% to 80%, and “skippable” is the rest. Source: ESPN.

↑ BOS winsTOR wins ↓

Home team's win probability across the game (source: ESPN). The band rises when BOS leads and falls when TOR does.

This is how the game was decided.

Kyle Lowry decided it, the Toronto Raptors player with the most points (31, with 6 rebounds and 8 assists; +2 with him on the floor); the winner's best plus-minus was Pascal Siakam's (+12). The criterion: the winner's points in the box score; plus-minus says who was on the floor when the game opened up.

The game-winner in Boston Celtics 103-104 Toronto Raptors (September 3, 2020) was hit by OG Anunoby: a three-pointer with 0.0 s left in the fourth quarter, putting the Toronto Raptors up 104-103. They never trailed again.

The biggest run of Boston Celtics 103-104 Toronto Raptors (September 3, 2020) was a 9-0 run by the Boston Celtics in the second quarter (from 6:18 to 4:10), from 38-37 to 47-37. The Toronto Raptors' best was a 7-0 run in the third quarter (from 8:15 to 6:04), from 53-61 to 60-61.

▸See where these figures come from

Play: OG Anunoby makes 23-foot three point jumper (Kyle Lowry assists).

I count as the game-winner the basket that puts the winning team ahead for good. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

A run here is consecutive points by one team without the opponent scoring. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

Source: the game's official box score and play-by-play.

OG Anunoby decided this game: his points put his team ahead at the buzzer of the fourth quarter, and the opponent never led again.

It is one of the 3 games he has decided this way in the NBA since the 2002-03 season.

His profile shows the games Anunoby decided

▸See where these figures come from

A game is decided by the last basket that puts a team ahead in the final ten seconds of the fourth quarter or of an overtime, if that team wins.

3 September 2020 · The source is the ESPN play-by-play, play espn:401240078:603; the date is the one on the NBA box score.

Who stood out on defense during the season

These figures cover the whole 2019-20 regular season, not this game.

Toronto Raptors

Fred VanVleet deflected 4.2 passes per game over his 54 games.
He ranks 1 of 352 in the league.
Kyle Lowry drew 0.59 charges per game over his 58 games.
He ranks 2 of 352 in the league.
Serge Ibaka contested 11.4 shots per game over his 55 games.
He ranks 18 of 352 in the league.

Boston Celtics

Kemba Walker drew 0.32 charges per game over his 56 games.
He ranks 8 of 352 in the league.
Marcus Smart deflected 3.2 passes per game over his 60 games.
He ranks 12 of 352 in the league.
Jayson Tatum recovered 1.4 loose balls per game over his 66 games.
He ranks 15 of 352 in the league.

Hustle figures come from the hustle stats the NBA publishes (NBA.com) and rim defense comes from its tracking; both cover the regular season. For each player in this game we show the figure that ranks him highest in the league, and for each team, the three best ranked. Ranks count players with at least 30 games and, at the rim, at least 4 defended shots per game.

The Boston Celtics have won 81 of their 127 games against the Toronto Raptors.

81-46record of the Boston Celtics · NBA 1995-96 – 2025-26, regular season and playoffs

4-0in 2025-26

See the full head-to-head in the Analyst

See where it comes from

Official NBA box scores, regular season and playoffs, 1995-96 – 2025-26. It counts every game between the two teams that the house holds, this one included.

SportiveWorld knows much more about this game

Game context

Series

Game 3

Conference semifinals

BOS 4-3

Scoring

207

combined points

12.1 below the season average (219.1)

⚖️ The last two minutes

Official NBA L2M report: every call in the endgame, reviewed by the league.

11 calls reviewed2 errors admitted by the NBA

Foul: Defense 3 Second · 00:02.1

Kyle Lowry → Celtics

Lowry (TOR) is in lane for longer than three seconds without actively guarding an opponent.

Foul: Shooting · 00:22.5

Daniel Theis → Fred VanVleet

Theis (BOS) jumps from point A to point B and he delivers contact to VanVleet's (TOR) body affecting his driving shot attempt.