Sunday delivered another full slate of NBA playoff action. The Raptors, Spurs and Celtics have been Game 4 winners so far, with the Lakers and Rockets closing out the slate.
The Raptors tied up their series with the Cavaliers in a hard-fought, low-scoring affair that highlighted Toronto's dominant defense. It wasn't pretty, both teams shot the ball so poorly that the Raptors set a new record for the worst shooting performance in a playoff win. But a win is a win, and now the series shifts back to Cleveland for a crucial Game 5.
San Antonio's 114-93 win in Portland was considerably prettier, but it didn't start that way. Despite getting Victor Wembanyama back in the lineup (after missing Game 3 with a concussion), the Spurs shot 34% in the first half (with no second-chance points and just one fast-break point) and trailed by 17 points heading into the third quarter. For the second consecutive game, though, San Antonio dominated after halftime. The Spurs scored the first 13 points of the third quarter and outscored Portland 73-35 in the second half. It was the largest victory in NBA playoff history by a team that trailed by 15-plus points at half. San Antonio has a chance to close out the series at home on Tuesday.
The Boston Celtics' 128-96 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers was their largest road win in franchise playoff history. They shot 24 for 53 (45.3%) from deep -- one make short of the most in NBA playoff history -- and took a 3-1 lead in the series, ruining Joel Embiid's return. Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum scored a combined 62 points on 20-for-37 shooting.
And now here are the biggest winners and losers from Sunday's action.
Murray-Boyles became just the third Raptors rookie to finish a playoff game with a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds), joining teammate Scottie Barnes and Jamario Moon to accomplish that feat. But his place on this list goes beyond the boxscore. In the fourth quarter specifically, Murray-Boyles had several key moments that would be part of why Toronto managed to win the game and tie up the series.
We'll start with the biggest moment: Murray-Boyles' game-winning defense against Donovan Mitchell. With the Raptors up 90-87 and 14 seconds left on the clock, Mitchell tried for a game-tying 3-pointer. But the rookie forward wasn't giving up an inch of space to allow Mitchell any room to get off a quality shot. Mitchell even tried a pump fake to get CMB in the air, which he didn't fall for, and Mitchell ended up throwing up a bad attempt that clanked off the side of the rim.
Collin Murray-Boyles plays disciplined defense and forces the Mitchell miss and foul hunting attempt pic.twitter.com/jbNZXssfDd
Rookies aren't supposed to defend that well, certainly not in high-pressure situations of a playoff game. Mitchell was obviously banking on that, instead, he got stonewalled by Murray-Boyles and it led to Toronto securing the win. The rookie forward had his fingerprints all over this win.
One of the standout qualities of Murray-Boyles' game is his tenacity and hustle to fight for offensive boards. He had five offensive rebounds Sunday afternoon, including one that led to a monstrous putback dunk that cut Cleveland's lead to five points and ended a 10-0 Cavaliers run.
CMB is the first Raps rookie to drop double digits in FOUR straight playoff games 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WZ6qXpMJxb
It was a much-needed bucket at a time when it looked like the Cavaliers were going to pull away in what was a rock fight through three quarters. The other crucial offensive board came with just under three minutes to play. Cleveland was still clinging to a six-point lead, and Donovan Mitchell appeared to be coming out of what's been a two-game slump. RJ Barrett had just missed a shot at the rim, and despite there being four Cavs defenders in the paint, Murray-Boyles somehow managed to corral the rebound and dish a no-look pass out on the perimeter to Brandon Ingram who drained a 3-pointer.
That triple by Ingram cut Cleveland's lead to two points, putting the Raptors within striking distance of winning the game. If it weren't for Muray-Boyles' defensive effort in the fourth quarter, the Raptors would've lost this game and would be staring at elimination Wednesday night. -- Jasmyn Wimbish
Payton Pritchard has been coming off the bench for the Celtics since Jayson Tatum's return, but he'd probably start for your favorite team. He has spent this season showing that he is nothing short of an elite offensive player, and in Game 4 the Sixers had no answer for him whatsoever. He gave everybody buckets, and he did it in every which way: 3s off the dribble and of the catch, rim attacks, pull-ups, stepbacks, a putback and, yes, a one-legged, wrong-footed 3 to beat the buzzer.
The main difference between this version of Pritchard and the version that won 6MOY last season is that he's making tougher shots now. In addition to the super-deep 3s and end-of-quarter heaves he's known best for, Pritchard has mastered the short midrange jumper that almost nobody outside of T.J. McConnell takes. Boston naturally leaned on him more as a playmaker when Tatum was sidelined, and he's just as comfortable creating shots one-on-one now. This season, a career-high 36% of his shots were from midrange and a career-low 46% of his makes were assisted, per CTG.
All of this is to say that nobody should be particularly surprised that Pritchard dropped 32 points (12-21 FG, 6-12 3PT) and five assists on Philadelphia on Sunday. It's the second-most points a Celtic has ever scored off the bench in a playoff game -- Kevin McHale had 34 in 1991, if you were wondering -- but he scored 30-plus on six separate occasions during the regular season.
Pritchard scored all of his points in the first three quarters, by the way. If he hadn't played in the fourth, he would have finished with 32 in 25 minutes on 12-for-18 shooting. -- James Herbert
Before Sunday's game, De'Aaron Fox was not having a particularly noteworthy first series as a Spur. He'd averaged 17.3 points and six assists through three games, but, due to his inefficiency -- he had a 49.7% true shooting percentage -- I'd say his biggest contribution was simply keeping Blazers wing Toumani Camara occupied, which helped San Antonio's other guards get going. After the Spurs' loss in Game 2, he took some heat for missing a bunch of shots down the stretch.
Game 4, then, served as a reminder of why they traded for Fox in the first place. I'm not sure I agree with Charles Barkley that Fox was "the best player on the court" -- Wembanyama had 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, seven blocks and four steals -- but the 28-year-old steered the ship when San Antonio went on a run in the third quarter (and another run at the beginning of the fourth).
It is a credit to Fox that he has been willing to cede playmaking duties to Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper when they have been cooking. In this game, though, the two-time All-Star put his cape on. Fox repeatedly burned the Blazers in isolation and pick-and-roll, and he set up Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson for open 3s.