The Toronto Raptors on Saturday made history the hard way, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time after rallying past the Milwaukee Bucks 100-94 in Game 6.
Trailing by 15 points with 2 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Raptors scored the final 10 points of the period.
Then, with Kawhi Leonard on the bench for the first 3:30 of the fourth quarter, they took a two-point lead.
Photo: AFP
Leonard returned and the game was in good hands. He finished with 27 points — seven in the fourth quarter — a career-best 17 rebounds and seven assists.
“Just one possession at a time,” Leonard said, describing the comeback. “We kept fighting the whole game.”
The Raptors, who lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals before winning four straight, are to open the NBA Finals at home on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors.
“It’s still surreal to me right now,” Leonard said. “But this is what we’ve been striving for all season. It’s not over yet.”
Pascal Siakam added 18 points for the Raptors, while Kyle Lowry had 17 and Fred VanVleet scored 14.
“Kawhi stays level-headed all the time,” Lowry said. “He brought that pedigree with him.”
“He inspired us tonight with monster rebounds,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse added. “It wasn’t going well for us. It was kind of a frustrating night ... but we kept playing.”
Lowry has been through many playoff failures in seven years with the Raptors.
“It means a lot to me,” Lowry said. “We beat a really good team in Milwaukee, but I’m not satisfied yet. Our goal is to win the NBA championship.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who had the NBA’s best record (60-22) during the regular season. Brook Lopez added 18 points with nine rebounds and three blocks, while Khris Middleton had 14 points, Ersan Ilyasova 13, and Malcolm Brogdon and George Hill put up 10 apiece.
“This hurts,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “But what they did in the playoffs tonight against a really good Toronto Raptors team, and to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, the regular season, a special season for us. We feel like we’re just getting started.”
“We have to get better as a team and get better as individuals,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is the beginning of a long journey for us.”
“We had a great season, we just fell short of our goals,” Middleton said.
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