Get ready for a Labor Day playoff doubleheader with five key stats to know about each matchup.
Game 5: Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors (Series Tied 2-2), 6:30 ET, NBA League Pass
- The team that has shot better from 3-point range has won each of the four games of this series. Boston is shooting 38.5% in their two wins and 32.0% in their two losses; Toronto is shooting 35.7% in their wins and 26.2 in their losses.
- Toronto has won every third quarter in this series, outscoring Boston by a total of 26 points through the first four games.
- Boston was held to a playoff-low 93 points in Game 4. The Celtics have gone 1-9 in the regular season and playoffs combined when scoring fewer than 100 points.
- Toronto’s lineup of Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby has played more minutes than any five-man group in the Conference Semifinals and have a 7.8 net rating in 76 minutes.
- Of the 10 lineups that have played at least 15 minutes in the conference semifinals, Boston’s starting five of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Daniel Theis has the lowest offensive rating at 88.8 points per 100 possessions in 59 minutes on court together.
Game 3: LA Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets (Series Tied 1-1), 9:00 ET, NBA League Pass
- Nikola Jokic finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in Denver’s Game 2 win. Since 1984, only four other players have hit those marks in a playoff game: Shaquille O’Neal (6x, including the most recent in 2004), Tim Duncan (3x), Kevin Garnett and David Robinson.
- The Nuggets shot 15-40 from beyond the arc in their Game 2 win. During the playoffs, the Nuggets are 4-1 when they make at least 15 3-pointers in a game. During the regular season, they went 11-3 in those games.
- In Game 1, Jamal Murray had 3 points on 1-7 FG, 1-4 3P in 7:28 of matchup time against either Kawhi Leonard or Paul George. In Game 2, Murray scored 17 points on 7-15 FG, 3-8 3P in 9:01 against either Leonard or George. In 2:53 of matchup time against Patrick Beverley in this series, Murray has yet to attempt a shot.
- In Game 2, Gary Harris shot 4-7 from beyond the arc; he shot 4-5 on wide-open 3s, with the closest defender at least 6 feet away. Prior to Game 2, Harris had shot just 2-11 from beyond the arc, including 1-8 on wide-open looks.
- In each of the first two games of the series, the Nuggets have scored 66 points in the final three quarters, being outscored by 23 points over that stretch in Game 1 and by 10 points in Game 2. The teams played the first quarter even in Game 1, but Denver dominated the opening period in Game 2, 44-28.
