NBA Hoosiers (Sept. 9): OG Anunoby Doesn't Mind Working Overtime for Wins
There's a lot to like about OG Anunoby's game, but what just might rank at the very top of his list is his willingness to do absolutely whatever it takes to win a game.
That was blatantly obvious on Wednesday when Anunoby and his Toronto Raptors, with their backs agains the wall already, needed double overtime to beat the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series. Anunoby played 50 minutes for the first time in his career to help the Raptors win 125-122.
"I've never played 50 minutes before, but I could have gone more if we needed to,'' he said afterward. "We all could have. I means that much.''
It was a full night's work, too, because Anunoby, who's just 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, played center for much of the game when the Raptors went small. Raptors coach Nick Nurse used three guards — Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell — and forwards Pascal Siakam and Anunoby.
"It just gives us a little bit better chance to guard them," Nurse said following the Raptors' 125-122 double-overtime victory against the Celtics. "That’s the main thing. It’s tough when Kemba [Walker]’s so fast and it’s hard for our bigs sometimes to keep up with him when they’re up, because he can shoot the 3, you’ve got to be up, and then if you creep up too far he darts by you. It’s hard to play some standard pick-and-roll coverages."
Anunoby held his own. He had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
"He is in some scenarios that he’s not in that much," Nurse said of Anunoby. "He was doing the best he could in some of them, some of the help or protecting the rim which is not really his thing. But you are right. He did rebound well. I just thought he competed, and didn’t shy away from the moment.
"I thought at the offensive end, it really spread the ball around. Norm was making shots, OG popped, made a shot, OG drived and kicked one out, Fred and Kyle. There was a lot more I think happening at the offensive end that made us more difficult to guard."
The Raptors recorded seven assisted buckets with the lineup on the court and shot 5-for-13 from 3-point range, and kept making big shots at every turn.
Game 7 in the series is Friday at 9 p.m. The winner gets the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Miami beat top-seeded Milwaukee in five games.
Thursday Night's NBA Game
- Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 7 p.m. ET (TV: TNT): The Lakers have bounced back after losing the opener and now hold a 2-1 series lead heading into Thursday's Game 4. Lakers coach Frank Vogel knows to expect the best from Rockets stars James Harden, Russell Westbrook and former Hoosier Eric Gordon. "We’re not going to be comfortable against a team that has the type of firepower that they have," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Wednesday. "We’re just going to continue to try to execute our coverages and our schemes. We’d like to minimize him and obviously the back-side threes as much as possible.”