Jaylen Brown was left fuming after OG Anunoby's buzzer-beater snatched a dramatic 104-103 win for the Toronto Raptors to reduce the Boston Celtics' series lead to 2-1.
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The Celtics looked set to be on the brink of the Eastern Conference finals when a Daniel Theis dunk with 0.5 seconds to play put them two points up on Thursday. Yet there was one final twist, as a miscommunication between Jayson Tatum and Brown gave Anunoby the opportunity to win Game 3 and he grasped it to give the defending champions a lifeline.
Celtics guard Brown was furious over such a costly late lapse, with Brown left free for a decisive three-pointer.
"That was just a f—ing disgrace at the end of the game. That was just terrible," Brown said. "No way we should have lost that game. I take responsibility for that. Not just that play, but a lot of the plays before. And it happens. This is the NBA playoffs. Either you let them gain momentum or you come back and be ready to play next game."
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He continued.
"Just a miscommunication [of] the coverage that we were in. That's all that really is. They made a remarkable play at the end. [Anunoby] snuck along the baseline, and we just gotta communicate better, that's it," he said. "As a unit, that can't happen. We were matched up, and OG snuck along the baseline, didn't recognize him early enough and he got a wide-open look. We gotta be better than that. We gotta communicate better.
"Me being four years in, I gotta be better. Can't give up the three at the end of the game. He made a remarkable shot, but still. It's a f—ing disgrace. Terrible. No excuse for it. At all. It was ridiculous. Can't take your foot off the gas at all. We gotta be ready to play Game 4 [on Saturday]."