State-ment win
Raptors outlast Warriors in OT thriller
Nothing comes easy when you are trying to knock off the champs.
Even without mainstays Steph Curry and Draymond Green in the lineup the Golden State Warriors took this one right to the wire, but it was the Raptors who finally prevailed.
It required overtime, but it will go into the books as the Raptors’ first win in nine attempts against the Warriors.
The 131-128 victory did not come easy.
All it took was an early Raptors 18-point lead that got frittered away down to two before it got back up to double digits and then again got erased.
Kevin Durant, who seemed to single-handedly want to keep the Golden State win streak alive, would come down with 8.6 seconds left, the Warriors trailing by three and hit a turnaround three to tie the game. It didn’t even appear he had time to look at the basket with Leonard all over him. Durant shot it like there was no one there.
The Raptors had a chance to win it with the last shot and had the ball in Leonard’s hands. He got deep into the paint and then tossed it back outside to Serge Ibaka a second too late as regulation expired before Ibaka could get a shot off.
In the overtime it was everyone but Leonard and Lowry, the two go-to Raptors who would eventually knock out the Warriors once and for all.
Pascal Siakam who would finish with 26 points would get inside and open the scoring in the overtime.
Ibaka would follow with a mid-range jumper of his own to go up four.
The Warriors would get it all back as Durant, who was on his way to 51 would get one from the line and then hit a three to tie it again.
Danny Green, who always seems to be clutch hit a three to put the Raptors back up with 1:20 to go.
The Warriors would come back to erase that lead as well until a steal by Kyle Lowry sent Pascal Siakam to the line for two, both of which he converted. He would get to the line four more times over the final minute and hit three more to seal the win.
The 26 by Siakam were a career high. Leonard finished with a team-high 37 in his best game as a Raptors while Kyle Lowry had another double-double with 10 points and 12 assists.
With the win the Raptors improved to 19-4 while the Warriors fell to 15-8.
The two teams will renew acquaintances in a couple of week in Oakland only this time, barring any further injuries, the Warriors should be at full strength.