Pascal Siakam, Raptors Even Series with Game 4 Win over Jayson Tatum, Celtics

The Toronto Raptors evened their Eastern Conference Semifinal series at two games apiece with a 100-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex.

The Raptors outscored the Celtics 32-24 in the third quarter to take an 81-73 lead into the fourth. The Celtics closed the gap to 98-93 with 57.3 seconds left after a Jayson Tatum and-1 but were unable to cut the lead further.

Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry each had double-doubles for the Raps, who have won two straight to knot the East Semis at two. Serge Ibaka scored 18 points off the bench.

Tatum led Boston with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, but the Celtics' three-point struggles (7-of-35) doomed them in defeat.

Notable Performances

Raptors F Pascal Siakam: 23 points, 11 rebounds

Raptors G Kyle Lowry: 22 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists

Raptors G Fred VanVleet: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists

Raptors C Serge Ibaka: 18 points, 7 rebounds

Celtics F Jayson Tatum: 24 points, 10 rebounds

Celtics G Kemba Walker: 15 points, 8 assists

Celtics G Jaylen Brown: 14 points, 6 rebounds

Celtics G Marcus Smart: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Siakam, Lowry Propel Raps to Win

Siakam had struggled in the first three games of the Celtic series, shooting 36.2 percent from the field while averaging 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Given the All-Star's regular-season averages of 22.9 points and 7.3 rebounds, Siakam's struggles were concerning as the Raptors faced a pivotal Game 4.

Now they're a distant memory after Siakam torched the C's to the tune of 23 points and 11 rebounds in 46 minutes. Sure, he went 2-of-13 from three-point range, but he was a monster pretty much everywhere else en route to the seven-point win.

His chemistry with Lowry played a part, with the two connecting after this pretty feed from the point guard:

As for Lowry, he nearly had a triple-double on a night where he seemingly did a little of everything, scoring 22 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing seven assists and adding a pair of steals and blocks too.

He didn't shoot particularly well on the night (5-of-16) but was good enough from three (4-of-10), including this step-back:

Lowry also dropped the game's most important shot when he gave the Raps a late eight-point edge following this one:

The Raps were able to build that cushion thanks to Lowry's early success, when he scored 11 in the game's first five minutes:

Lowry and Siakam have been clutch in past playoff games, most notably during the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals last season. They had the services of two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard then, but he's a Los Angeles Clipper now.

However, the Lowry-Siakam combo is capable of leading the Raps to the same championship perch that Leonard did one year ago. The competition will be fierce, but Toronto isn't going away quietly.

Celtics Can't Buy a 3-Point Bucket as Shooting Woes Lead to Loss

The Celtics may have lost this one by seven in a game where they never came closer than five in the fourth, but it never seemed as if Boston was playing poorly.

Sure, the Celtics didn't have much of an answer for Siakam and Ibaka, who combined for 41 points on 17-of-32 shooting. And Lowry was three assists shy of a triple-double.

But Boston's defense was largely good as a whole. The Celtics held the Raps to 39.5 percent shooting, with Lowry and Fred VanVleet going 11-of-35.

The only real difference in this game was beyond the arc: The Raptors hit their threes, and the Celtics did not.

Toronto hit 17 of 44 shots from beyond the arc. On the Boston side, Jaylen Brown went 2-of-11 and Tatum, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart each went 1-of-6.

Boston shot 36.4 percent from three-point range during the regular season, good enough for 12th in the NBA. What occurred Saturday isn't remotely close to what the team is capable of from the three-point line on a nightly basis.

A couple more makes in the fourth quarter would have turned a two-possession game into a nail-biter down the stretch.

The C's still had the ball down only five with under one minute remaining despite their shooting issues, but Tatum was called for an offensive foul, which eventually led to two OG Anunoby free throws that sealed the game.

After the game, Brown, who scored 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting, summed up his performance accurately.

"I just gotta make shots," Brown said postgame, per Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. "There's not too much more talking that need to be done. Just gotta play better."

It's hard pointing to any silver linings for a team that just lost two straight in a playoff series, but ultimately, the Celtics aren't going to shoot 20 percent from three-point range for the rest of this matchup. Improvement in that area alone could be good enough to right the ship in Game 5.

What's Next?

Game 5 will take place Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET, and Game 6 will occur Wednesday at a to-be-determined time.

Game 7, if necessary, is slated for Friday.