Leonard leads Raptors to OT win over Warriors
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 pre-Leonard, 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 regular-season trip to Toronto — lived up to its promise. The Raptors raced out to an early 18point 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 threepointer 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 three-pointer 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 that included Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock, Drake and UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.
Up by just three points heading into a crazy final minute of regulation, Lowry drilled a thrill, 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.