Today in Boston Celtics history, the team lost Game 3 of their 2020 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals series vs. the Toronto Raptors. They lost to the tune of 104-103, and fell to a 2-1 lead after winning the first two games of the series. The loss went down due to a last-second 3-point shot by Toronto forward OG Anunoby, made possible by a full-court pass from point guard Kyle Lowry, despite the defensive efforts of Boston's 7-foot-5 center, Tacko Fall, who was brought in to challenge Lowry. The defeat came despite an impressive performance by vet Celtics guard Kemba Walker, who scored 29 points, Boston's first playoff game in the Orlando bubble.
The Celtics also saw forward Jaylen Brown add 19 points and 12 rebounds and swingman Jayson
Tatum another 15 points, 9 boards, and 6 assists. "It hurts and stings to lose," Celtics coach Brad Stevens related after the loss via the AP. "But we'll just get back to it and get ready for Saturday."
"Much credit to those guys," Walker said. "That was a hell of a shot."
Historic milestones
It is also the date in 1898 that the Tremont Street subway would be extended to Causeway Street from Park Street to create North Station.
It would be another 30 years before the original Boston Garden would be built on the site at 150 Causeway Street.
Transactions
It is also the date that the Celtics sent Juancho Hernangomez to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a three-team deal that brought back Bol Bol and PJ Dozier to Boston from the Denver Nuggets.
The star of the Netflix film "Hustle" saw his tenure with the team he ended up with in the movie as well, having averaged just 1.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game with the Celtics.
Gone too soon
Today is unfortunately also the date of the passing of former Boston big man Woody Sauldsberry in 2007. Born in rural Winnsboro, Louisiana in 1934, Sauldsberry played his college ball with the Texas Southern University Tigers, he would be drafted in the eighth round of the 1957 NBA Draft (there were many more rounds in that era by the (then) Philadelphia Warriors (now, Golden State).
He would play a total of seven seasons in the NBA with the Warriors, (then) St. Louis Hawks (now, Atlanta), the defunct Chicago Packers, and Zephyrs before leaving the NBA for two seasons starting in 1963 to play in other leagues. Sauldsberry would return to the NBA briefly with the Celtics in their 1965-66 season, playing in 39 games for the team, and helping them win a title in a reserve role.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Game 3 lost to Raps in Orlando bubble; Sauldsberry passes
