Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) reacts after making the game winning basket in the last seconds of play against the Toronto Raptors in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 95-93.David Butler II
Jae Crowder hit an off-balance fall-away from deep on the right wing with .8 seconds left, lifting Boston to a 95-93 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday that secured the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference for the Celtics.
Evan Turner and Avery Bradley each scored 14 points for Boston, which will face No. 2 seed Cleveland in the playoffs. Brandon Bass added 13 points and nine rebounds.
It was the fifth straight win for the Celtics, who clinched a playoff spot on Monday when Brooklyn lost.
Kyle Lowry had 16 points for the Raptors, who are locked into the fourth seed and will face Washington. Toronto beat the Wizards in all three meetings this season.
Lou Williams also had 16 points for Toronto, Terrence Ross scored 12 and Jonas Valanciunas' 11.
After Turner's shot was blocked out of bounds with 2.5 seconds left, Crowder caught the ensuing inbounds pass and nailed the winner.
Lowry's shot at the buzzer was blocked by Turner.
The teams were tied six times in the final quarter before Turner hustled after his own miss and found Tyler Zeller for a one-hander in the lane with 14 seconds left.
Just like a few seconds earlier, Lowry then drove the lane, tying it at 93 with 10.2 seconds to go.
Turner hit a jumper from the right baseline off an inbounds play with 35.2 seconds left to push Boston ahead 91-89, but Lowry scored on a drive down the lane, tying it.
The Raptors had opened an 87-82 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left, but Boston tied it on Marcus Smart's 3 from the right wing.
Trailing by eight early in the second half, the Celtics used a 14-5 run to take a 64-63 lead, their first since the opening quarter. Boston led 73-70 entering the final period.
The Raptors led by seven after one, pushed it to 15 late into the second quarter and held a 53-46 advantage at intermission.
TIP-INS
Raptors: G Lowry played his third game after missing seven with back spasms. ... F Amir Johnson returned after missing four with an ankle injury. ... F DeMar DeRozan was given the night off.
Celtics: The team honoured a piece of the club's history: The play when John Havlicek stole the ball to seal the 1965 Eastern Conference final 50 years ago Wednesday. Hall of Famer Havlicek received a standing ovation when he was introduced at centre court after a video of the play was shown on the Jumbotron. ... Bradley limped to the locker room early in the second half with a left leg injury and didn't return. ... Coach Brad Stevens was pleased his team has played so well the past 28 games, going 18-10 to earn a playoff spot. "It's like I told those guys today, this group that's been together just for 28 games has been pretty darn good in those 28 games," he said.
UP NEXT
Raptors: host Charlotte on Wednesday.
Celtics: at Milwaukee on Wednesday.