NBA Finals 2019: Toronto Raptors win first NBA title with 114-110 victory over Golden State
The Toronto Raptors won a wild game 114-110 against Golden State Warriors in Oakland for their first NBA title.Toronto won the series 4-2, finishing it off a few minutesafter Klay Thompson used crutches to hobble out of Oracle and into perhaps an uncertain future.
The leading team switched throughout the game, with the Raptors clinging to a one-point lead with 18 seconds left.
Stephen Curry missed a contested 3-pointer in the waning moments before Golden State called a timeout it didn't have, giving Leonard a technical free throw with 0.9 seconds left to seal it. Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP for a second time, then got behind Andre Iguodala for a layup as the buzzer sounded, but it went to review and the basket was called off before Leonard's two free throws. That only delayed the celebration for a moment.
When it actually ended, the typically stoic Leonard could let it all out. A Canadian team - and we're not talking hockey here - stood on top of one of the traditional major sports leagues for the first time since the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series.
Serge Ibaka pulled his head up through the hoop by the Golden State bench as the crowd chanted "Warriors! Warriors!" after a sensational send-off at Oracle Arena.
Klay Thompson was injured in the third quarter, landing awkwardly on his leg while trying to dunk. There was no word on on severity of the injury. Thompson registered 30 points to lead all scorers before leaving the game.
Despite Thompson's absence, the Warriors kept battling, and were able to stick with the Raptors until the final seconds, finding baskets here and there from pretty much everyone that was still healthy to play, CBS Sports reports. After a late turnover by the Raptors, they even had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, but Steph Curry's 3 didn't go down. A bizarre sequence in the aftermath led to the Warriors calling a timeout they didn't have, which effectively ended the game.
Kyle Lowry finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Raptors. Pascal Siakam also went for 26, while Kawhi Leonard and Fred VanVleet each added 22 of their own. Thompson led the Warriors with 30 points, and Andre Iguodala chipped in 22 points.
The Warriors were already without Kevin Durant, out with a ruptured Achilles that left the team fielding some criticism about the risk he was taking by returning to the series while already dealing with a lower-leg injury.