MONTREAL (AP) – OG Anunoby (AP pic, below) scored 32 points and Scottie Barnes added 25 as the Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics 137-134 in overtime on Friday on the final night of NBA pre-season play.
Precious Achiuwa had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors, including the game-sealing rebound after Boston’s Payton Pritchard missed a potential game-tying shot and a chance to force a second OT.
Khem Birch, playing in his hometown, was the starting centre for the Raptors. He finished with four points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Bell Centre crowd got a chance to cheer on their local player when Birch drove to the net for a dunk in the first quarter.
Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each scored 23 points for the Celtics. Jayson Tatum added 21 points and five assists. Marcus Smart finished with 15 points.
The teams were tied at 127 at the end of regulation after Toronto’s Josh Jackson made one of two free throws with 21.5 seconds left.
The Celtics had a chance to avoid overtime, but shots by Pritchard and Sam Hauser in the closing seconds were off the mark.
In the extra period, Toronto scored the first seven points and held on for the win.
Nikola Jokic had 21 points as visiting Denver defeated the Warriors on a night that Klay Thompson and Draymond Green returned to action for Golden State.
Michael Porter Jr had 15 points for the Nuggets, and Bones Hyland finished with 19 points.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 23 points, and Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points. James Wiseman scored 15 points, while Thompson scored 14 points, playing 17 minutes.
It was the first action of the pre-season for Thompson, who is still ramping up for the pre-season.
Meanwhile, Green returned to the lineup after his punch of Jordan Poole during a practice last week.
The team fined Green, but he was not suspended for his actions. Green played 24 minutes in his return, scoring two points.
Jalen Green hit 10 of 15 shots and scored 33 points as Houston beat host Indiana to finish the pre-season with four wins in five games.
Green made four of seven shots from three-point range and all nine of his free throws.
Kevin Porter Jr had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Alperen Sengun finished with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Bennedict Mathurin, the sixth overall pick in last summer’s draft from Arizona, continued his solid pre-season play by posting 18 points and five rebounds.
Paolo Banchero, the top pick in this year’s draft, scored 17 points on six-for-12 shooting as host Orlando rallied in the second half.
The Cavaliers gave most of their starters, including Kevin Love, Darius Garland and recently acquired Donovan Mitchell, the night off. But big man Evan Mobley was back in the lineup after injuring his right ankle earlier in the pre-season.
Mobley finished with eight points, going one for four from the field and making six of eight free throws in 17 minutes.
