Atlanta Hawks forward Tony Snell spoils Toronto Raptors comeback with game-winning buzzer-beater 3-pointer

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Kyle Irving
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• 6 min read
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That one hurts for the Toronto Raptors.

Down by as many as 19 points in the first half, the Raptors flipped momentum with a monster third quarter. They were comfortably in the driver's seat in the fourth quarter, before Trae Young, Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter sparked a late comeback for the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks trailed by two points with on possession remaining in the game, and when the Raptors did a great job defending Young, the star point guard found his teammate Tony Snell wide open on the perimeter, setting up a game-winning buzzer-beater 3-pointer.

For more on this contest, we have you covered with takes below.

1. Tony Snell for the win

Trae Young had 37 points in the contest, so all eyes were on the star guard to try and come up with a game-winning shot. The Raptors made things difficult for Young, but the savvy guard found his teammate Snell wide open for 3 with the game on the line.

Bang.

Snell only had six points in the contest, but this big shot decided the outcome.

2. Kyle Lowry passes Chris Bosh for second on Raptors all-time scoring list

Lowry's Raptors legacy is still being written, but it's hard to argue against his case as the Greatest Raptor Of All-Time.

He added another line to that resume in this one, passing Bosh for second on the franchise's all-time scoring list.


Lowry still trails former teammate DeMar DeRozan (13,296 points) by a sizable margin, but second on the all-time scoring list is nothing to sneeze at. Lowry is already the franchise's all-time leader in assists, steals, 3-pointers and triple-doubles.

3. Norman Powell still has the hot hand

Powell refuses to cool off this season.

The prolific scoring wing was incredible again, going off for a team-high 33 points to give the Raptors life in this one.


There isn't a shot that Powell doesn't like at the moment, and it seems like they're all falling. He shot 11-for-20 from the field and 6-for-10 from 3, giving Toronto a spark with so many key players out.

Powell has now scored 25 or more points in four consecutive games – three of which have been 30-plus.

4. Chris Boucher's impact off the bench

It has been a career-year for Boucher and this contest was another reminder of that.

The reserve centre only had nine points at the half, but his 10 points in the third quarter played a major role in the Raptors turning things around. He never looked back after that surge, going for another 10 points in the fourth quarter.


Boucher went for an (at the time) career-high 29 points the last time he played the Hawks, and tonight, he was fantastic again with 29 points, nine boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Closing the first half of the season with a career-high 30 points against the Boston Celtics, Boucher has now strung together two phenomenal performances to build upon his stellar season.

5. A game of runs

The Raptors trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half but trimmed the Hawks' lead to just five by halftime. In the third quarter, Toronto flipped the game on its head, outscoring Atlanta 35-20 to take a 10-point lead into the final frame. Powell's 13 points and Boucher's 10 points in the third quarter helped propel the Raptors' game-altering swing, while Lowry dished out seven assists in that period alone.

The Hawks weren't done fighting though, going on a late 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to make it a one possession game. 12 fourth-quarter points from Huerter and 11 fourth-quarter points from Young helped Atlanta put itself in a position to win the game, outscoring the Raptors 37-26 in the final frame to come away with a victory.

6. Trae Young gets his

Young erupted for a game-high 37 points, shooting 11-for-24 from the field and 2-for-7 from 3. It wasn't an efficient game, but Young still filled it up by doing the majority of his damage at the charity stripe as he has so often this season, going 13-for-16 to boost his scoring total.


With all eyes on him on the final possession, Young made half of the game-winning play, kicking out to Snell for the assist on his buzzer-beater 3-ball.

7. Clint Capela's rebounding dominance

While Aron Baynes – and the Raptors defence as a whole – did a much better job containing Capela compared to the last time these two teams met, the league's rebounding leader still dominated the glass.

Capela corralled 18 rebounds, his sixth game this season with 18 or more boards. The Swiss centre leads the NBA with 14.2 rebounds per game, grabbing double-digit rebounds in all but three contests this season.

He came up one point shy of a double-double, but his 24 double-doubles only places him behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (25), Domantas Sabonis (25) and Nikola Jokic (32) for the most in the league.

8. Head coach Nick Nurse is back

Nurse was forced to miss the Raptors' final three games prior to the All-Star break because of the league's health and safety protocols. Acting head coach Sergio Scariolo went 1-2 in those three contests, but Nurse returned to the sidelines in this one.

While Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Patrick McCaw and Malachi Flynn were still out, it was good to see Nurse back in action.

9. What's next?

The Raptors will have one day off before traveling to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. The Hawks also have one day off before hosting the Sacramento Kings in Atlanta.

The views on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the NBA or its clubs.

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Kyle Irving Photo
Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.