How a basic bubble quirk and a miscommunication by the Celtics saved the Raptors' season

• OG Anunoby hit a miracle, game-winning three-pointer to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics and make the series 2-1 instead of 3-0.
• Raptors guard Kyle Lowry benefitted from a bubble quirk: no fans on the sideline, giving him more space to make the cross-court pass to Anunoby.
• The Celtics also flubbed a basic switch, leaving Anunoby wide open in the corner while two players covered the Raptors' Fred VanVleet.

Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby saved his team's season on Thursday with a game-winning, miracle three-pointer that he shot with just .5 seconds left. The shot went in, giving the Raptors a 104-103 win over the Boston Celtics that helped them avoid falling in a 3-0 series hole.

No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

However, the Raptors may have gotten a bit lucky with how the whole play unfolded.

First, they were helped by a small bubble quirk. As ESPN's Kirk Goldberry noted, Kyle Lowry had extra room on the sideline to throw the pass over the 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall, because, well, there were no fans on the sideline. Normally, Lowry would be closer to the actual sideline, making his cross-court heave to Anunoby all the more difficult.

Second, the Celtics flubbed their switching defense. As TNT's Stan Van Gundy said in the clip above, Boston planned to switch everything on the inbounds play.

Almost right away, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum confused their switch. Brown was supposed to pick up Anunoby, who cut baseline to the left wing. Tatum instead went to cover Fred VanVleet, who was cutting across the elbow, while Brown stuck with Pascal Siakam, then picked up Marc Gasol diving to the paint.

Then, of course, Lowry threw a nearly perfect cross-court pass to Anunoby. After the game, Lowry said the play was drawn up for VanVleet or Siakam to get the ball. Instead, the Celtics successfully covered up both players but left Anunoby open

Still, like football, basketball can be a game of inches. Once the ball was in the air, Brown quickly noticed Anunoby alone and made a great close-out. If he noticed him a fraction of a second earlier, this might have been a blocked shot (or at least well enough contested to miss it):

By the slimmest of margins, the Raptors are still alive.

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