It's Siakam Night folks ! Raptors beat Celtics 100-93 to even East semifinals at 2-2

Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Lowry added 22 points and 11 boards and the Raptors evened the Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece, beating the Boston Celtics 100-93 on Saturday.

Two days after winning Game 3 on OG Anunoby’s 3-pointer as time expired, the Raptors shut down most of Boston’s perimeter shooters and Jaylen Brown in particular.

Serge Ibaka had 18 points off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting and Fred VanVleet finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. The Raptors shot only 39.5% but believe they’ll eventually put their offense and defense together on the same night.

“I think we can always get to another level. I feel like we can always do that and obviously everyone clicking at the right time, and once we have that we’re a pretty special team,” Siakam said.

Coach Nick Nurse assumed the Raptors would quickly refocus after the euphoria of that victory, recalling how well they played on short rest after Kawhi Leonard’s series-winning shot to beat Philadelphia in Game 7 of the second round before falling in Game 1 at Milwaukee.