Raptors prevail in OT
Warriors, minus Curry and Green, lose first game to Toronto since 2014
TORONTO A night billed as a potential NBA finals preview certainly lived up to its billing Thursday.
Kawhi Leonard poured in 37 points, his best as a Raptor, to lead Toronto to its seventh straight victory, a thrilling 131-128 overtime defeat of two-time NBA defending champion Golden State.
Pascal Siakam, who didn’t miss a shot until the final minute of the third quarter, added 28 points for the league-leading Raptors (19-4). Serge Ibaka chipped in with 20, Danny Green had 13, Jonas Valanciunas added 12, and Kyle Lowry finished with 10 points and 12 assists.
Kevin Durant scored 51 points — his third consecutive 40-point performance — to lead a Golden State squad (15-8) missing Steph Curry. Klay Thompson had 23.
The Raptors had lost eight straight to Golden State, but that was preLeonard, and now Toronto is the talk of the East. The matchup prompted Thompson to suggest the night was a potential preview of June’s NBA finals.
The much-anticipated night — a rare nationally televised game in the U.S., and the Warriors’ only regularseason trip to Toronto — lived up to its promise. The Raptors raced out to an early 18-point lead, and for the most part maintained a double-digit advantage until Durant lit it up late in the third quarter.
Durant scored the Warriors’ final 13 points of the quarter, including a three-pointer from the mid-court Raptors logo at the buzzer that sliced Toronto’s lead to 96-88, and set up an edge-of-your-seats final frame.
Thompson capped a 9-0 Warriors run that pulled the visitors to within two points with eight minutes to play. But the Raptors clawed their way back and when Green drilled a threepointer with 4:42 to play, it capped an 8-0 run that put Toronto back up by 10, prompting a deafening roar from the Scotiabank Arena crowd.
Up by just three points heading into a crazy final minute of regulation, Lowry drilled a three, but Durant replied with two of his own, his second dagger tying the game with 8.6 seconds to play and sending it to overtime.
The night had a post-season buzz, and the fans stood for the extra period, erupting when Green knocked down a three with 2:07 to play to put Toronto up by three. With 22 seconds left, and the Raptors clutching a three-point lead, Andre Iguodala had a clear path to the basket but was whistled for travelling, and Siakam iced the victory with three free throws in the dying seconds.