Jae Crowder's tough winner lifts Celtics over Raptors, locks up 7 seed
The first matchup of the 2015 NBA Playoffs has officially been set. With a dramatic 95-93 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, the Celtics locked up the No. 7 seed in the East. They can now plan for a first-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the only series decided heading into the final day of the regular season.
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Tuesday's victory came in thrilling fashion. Celtics wing Evan Turner had a hand in two baskets in the final 35 seconds (first with his own jumper off an inbound, then with a pass to Tyler Zeller with a lay-up), but Raptors guard Kyle Lowry answered each with a lay-up to create a 93-93 tie entering the final 10 seconds of regulation.
Terrence Ross blocked Turner's first attempt at a winner, but the Celtics got the ball back out of bounds. Marcus Smart found Jae Crowder from the baseline, but there was no guarantee that this tough fallaway jumper would go in:
The Raptors couldn't get off a quality shot on the last possession, and the Celtics improved their record to 39-42. The victory clinched the No. 7 seed in the East and set up a first-round matchup with the Cavs, who rested key players vs. Boston on Friday and Sunday after clinching the conference's No. 2 seed. The Celtics won both contests to split the four-game season series, although it's likely that the Cavs would have won at least one of those games at full strength.
No matter their underdog status, the Celtics have accomplished a great deal in making the postseason during a clear rebuilding period with no current or up-and-coming stars on the roster. Second-year head coach Brad Stevens figures to finish in the top two or three of Coach of the Year voting, and Danny Ainge could end up near the top of Executive of the Year voting simply for hiring Stevens in the spring of 2013.
This result also affected Toronto, who now sit a full game behind the Chicago Bulls in the race for the No. 3 seed. The Raptors lost all four games to the Bulls this season but would win the tiebreaker because of their Atlantic Division championship. As such, they will need to beat the Charlotte Hornets at the Air Canada Centre and hope the Bulls lose to the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center on Wednesday.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
