NBA highlights on August 21: Raptors, Celtics one win from semifinals
Li Xiang
Kemba Wlaker #8 of the Boston Celtics and Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors. /VCG

Kemba Wlaker #8 of the Boston Celtics and Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors. /VCG

The Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics beat their opponents on Friday, leaving both 3-0 up in their respective series and within one win of meeting each other in the semifinals.

Toronto Raptors 117-92 Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn deserve applause for their tenacious and dauntless efforts. Having entered the bubble without almost the whole starting lineup, they still managed to put up some resistance in every game against the top defense of Toronto.

For example, in Friday's game, which the team's best shooter Joe Harris sat out, Caris LeVert, Tyler Johnson and Chris Chiozza together went 11-20 from the 3-point line to get 52 points. Jarrett Allen managed to put down 17 rebounds and three assists.

Taurean Prince #22 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots the ball in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at the Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S., August 21, 2020. /VCG

Taurean Prince #22 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots the ball in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at the Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S., August 21, 2020. /VCG

Imagine what the team may achieve when these players are joined by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan next season.

However, Brooklyn stood no chance against Toronto on Friday. Though Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green left, the defending champions still have the top 5 defense in the league. Toronto's problem was that they fell into a scoring drought from time to time, but that problem has not been lethal yet, at least not in this series.

Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors shoots the ball in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at the Field House, U.S., August 21, 2020. /VCG

Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors shoots the ball in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at the Field House, U.S., August 21, 2020. /VCG

Kyle Lowry proved he's still a qualified commander with 11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Under his orchestrating, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka all scored over 20 points. Toronto sank a total of 18 triples at a 3-point rate of 47.37 percent and scored 46 points in the paint in Friday's game. Coach Nick Nurse helped his team optimize their offense by maximizing the ratio of 3-pointers and rim-assaulting in their offense, minimizing the effect of lacking first-class playmakers.

Mike Conley #10 of the Utah Jazz holds the ball in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S., August 21, 2020. /VCG

Mike Conley #10 of the Utah Jazz holds the ball in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S., August 21, 2020. /VCG

Denver Nuggets 87-124 Utah Jazz

Utah gained the lead back (2-1) in the series after a big win over Denver. Once again, Denver's defense found it very difficult to cover corner threes in front of Utah. Though Utah's best shooter Bojan Bogdanovic did not come to the bubble, Mike Conley's return became the dagger that stabbed Denver in the heart on Friday, thanks to his 7-8 shooting performance from the arc.

Perhaps intimidated by Utah's 20 triples made in Game 2, Denver chose to challenge the opponents' shooting in every possession when Utah's perimeter players called screen. The cost was that Rudy Gobert was left open when he charged against the rim. The French giant was 11-15 to get 24 points, 14 rebounds.

Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz dunks in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz dunks in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena, August 21, 2020. /VCG

It took Denver about two quarters to switch their defense back to their old pattern, which had the flaw of leaving corner threes open. Soon Utah made them pay in that division – they made six triples from the two corners in the game.

"I mean, it's not over. Still plenty of games... Just need to be a little more disciplined in my opinion," said Nikola Jokic in the post-game interview.

"If you dig deeper into that ... I think we give in too easy. Our group has to be a lot more mentally tough," said Mike Malone, head coach of the Nuggets.

Kemba Wlaker #8 of the Boston Celtics penetrates in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Field House, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Kemba Wlaker #8 of the Boston Celtics penetrates in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Field House, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Boston Celtics 102-94 Philadelphia 76ers

In the previous two games, Jayson Tatum was the unsolvable trouble for Philadelphia's defense after he scored 65 points in the two games. Fortunately for Philadelphia, Tatum fell into foul trouble in Game 3, giving them an opportunity to make the series 2-1 instead of 3-0.

However, Philadelphia lost again. Kemba Walker's big-heart performance was definitely behind Boston's victory – he dropped 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists and made a valuable jumper to help his team lead 98-94 before the last minute. Nonetheless, Philadelphia's disappointing offense was also to blame.

Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers tries to shoot the ball against the defense of the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs at the Field House, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers tries to shoot the ball against the defense of the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs at the Field House, August 21, 2020. /VCG

The team went 28-95 in field goals which was disappointing 29.5 percent, the worst for a playoff game in Philadelphia's history since 1980. Alec Burks was the only one of the team's bench unit that scored points (nine). Tobias Harris and Al Horford, who will receive over 60 million U.S. dollars together this season, got 15 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and six points, 10 rebounds respectively.

Now you understand why Joel Embiid was only 7-20 when Boston had to match his size. When his teammates posed almost no threat in offense, Boston had no concern trapping him in any way they wanted.

Despite that, Embiid still managed to put down 30 points, 13 rebounds. It's hard to ask him to do more.

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers dunks in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks at the AdventHealth Arena, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers dunks in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks at the AdventHealth Arena, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Los Angeles Clippers 130-122 Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic scored a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists before he left the game. He received a technical foul for a verbal clash with Montrezl Harrell. Then he sprained his left ankle when he tried to penetrate. Doncic tried to return to the game but it took him three minutes to realize that he couldn't do it.

"It's not that bad. Honestly, I had luck it's my left ankle. It's not my right. It's a little sprained. We'll know more tomorrow," said Doncic.

"The game is early Sunday, which doesn't help things, but we'll see. We've got every advanced treatment modality that you can have, as every team here does. We'll see how this responds in the next 36 hours," said Rick Carlisle, head coach of Dallas.

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks lies on the floor in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers at the AdventHealth Arena, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks lies on the floor in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers at the AdventHealth Arena, August 21, 2020. /VCG

Before Doncic went back to the locker room, he was 4-14, definitely not the best he could do. The good news was that his teammates, especially Kristaps Porzingis, performed great. The 25-year-old unicorn went 11-18 and made five triples to get 34 points, 13 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry both got 22 points.

The Clippers had seven players reach double-digit points in Friday's game. Kawhi Leonard had court-high 36 points plus nine rebounds and eight assists. Landry Shamet became an ingenious move after he was put in the starting squad by burying three 3-pointers to reach 18 points.

The Mavericks were undoubtedly weaker than the Clippers and their young boys will need to get used to the opponents' unorthodox tricks in the game like verbal attacks and ferocious fouls. Moreover, it will require the best performance from both Doncic and his teammates, plus the continuous underperformance by Paul George, if they want to create more surprises in the series.