NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: A pair of rare upsets

The Boston Celtics completed a pair of rare upsets when the defeated defending champions Toronto Raptors 92-87 in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals last Friday.

On Wednesday, the Miami Heat beat the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 4 games to one. The Bucks, one of the teams favoured to win this season's championship, almost got swept by the Heat. They were able to produce a miraculous win in Game 4, but couldn't follow through.

Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured early in Game 3. He continued to play but they eventually lost the game. He barely played in the team's only win of the series in Game 4, and didn't play at all in Game 5.

In the other Eastern semifinal series, it took the Celtics seven games to put away the defending champions.

According to CBS Sports, young Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics scoring 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Fellow forward Jaylen Brown provided support, scoring 21 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.

The Raptors were led by Fred VanVleet, who scored 20 points and Pascal Siakam with 13 points.

In the low scoring ball game, Marcus Smart's big block denied Raptors 6th man Norman Powell a game-tying layup that would have changed the game's momentum in the final minute.

It instead gave the momentum to the underdog Celtics, who finished the crucial game five points ahead of the defending champions.

Expectations are low for the Raptors since finals MVP Kawhi Leonard moved to the Los Angeles Clippers in the off-season. But they didn't disappoint Toronto fans by playing hard and ending the roller coaster 2019-2020 regular season in second place.

This season, young Celtics players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were impressive for the NBA's most illustrious team. But if Western Conference leaders Los Angeles Lakers win this season, led by superstar LeBron James and Antonio Davis, both the Celtics and Lakers will have 17 championships under their belt.