The biggest win in team history. Until the next one.
Toronto survives early onslaught, rallies in fourth to beat Bucks
MILWAUKEE— Everybody knew. Everybody knew this was the biggest Toronto Raptors game in history since the last one, and the one before that. Sure, Toronto was within two games of the NBA final in 2016, against LeBron. But that was an illusion. It was never real.
This was, and the moment was there. The Raptors trailed Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Milwaukee Bucks by three points entering the fourth quarter despite shooting like the rim was crooked. They were up eight with 6:20 to go. A win, and you get a chance to close at home and go to the NBA final. It was there for the taking.
And after Kawhi Leonard’s Michael Jordan-style fourth, Toronto just needed to make enough plays at the end, and it was guys who had to keep their offence from affecting their defence who did it. Centre Marc Gasol, who had hit his only shot late in the fourth, had hit one of two free throws for a three-point lead with 34.7 seconds left; forward Pascal Siakam, who had a miserable offensive night, forced a Malcolm Brogdon turnover.
Siakam got a dunk as Milwaukee tried to foul, and Toronto won Game 5 105-99. Kawhi scored 15 of his 35 in the fourth, had a career-high nine assists, Fred VanVleet had 21, and Toronto is one win from the NBA final.
In the fourth, they went to the same thing that they went to in almost every other big moment in these playoffs. They went to Kawhi. After his careerhigh 52 minutes in Game 3, he looked dead-legged, sometimes limping in Game 4. He hadn’t spoken publicly since. But as one observer said, “the last time I saw Kawhi this loose at a shootaround, he went for 45.”
And with the game in the balance, Kawhi was the killer. A steal, and a layup. A pull-up jumper. A pass to the newly blazing VanVleet, who was shooting like he had never slumped a day in his life. A crossover, pull-up three over centre Brook Lopez, then another one. Toronto led. Before the game, coach Nick Nurse was asked about the ball movement of Game 4 and said, “There are some times when giving someone the ball and getting out of the way is the right answer, too."
The defence devoured the Bucks, from Giannis Antetokounmpo on out. This team doesn’t really have a set formula beyond defence, Kawhi, and enough of everything else. No matter what, someone was going to face elimination in Game 6 in Toronto Saturday night. Now we know who.
Coming in, Kawhi’s health was a question, the Bucks were vowing to be better, and Lowry’s left thumb was a mess.
He said, “Yeah, I will not be able to get it taken care of until after the season’s over.” Surgery, in other words.
And still, Toronto had a chance. The start was awful. The Bucks swapped Brogdon for struggling forward Nikola Mirotic, and the Raptors started like they were ticking off things that could go wrong. They missed the open shots that fell in Game 4. Lowry fumbled a couple of backdoor passes from Gasol; it might have been the thumb. Milwaukee roared into transition, guard Eric Bledsoe finally looked playable, and Siakam and Kawhi each picked up two fouls in the first quarter. Milwaukee was up 18-4, fast.
Faced with this kind of push in the 76ers series, Toronto was blown out twice on the road, though the second time they had a Game 5 win already in their pocket. This time, the Raptors grimed their way back with defence. You could make a grocery list of the ways the offence could have been better. Lowry, Gasol and Siakam combined to miss 14 of their first 16 shots, and Siakam vacillated between too passive and too indecisive. Gasol looked like he didn’t want to shoot again. Danny Green is now 6-for-28 in the series.
But at halftime the Raptors were shooting 36 per cent and trailing by three; five minutes into the third it was 33 per cent, and they were down 10. They pulled it back again, with VanVleet bombing. The intelligence and veteran will of this team has been one of the quietly marquee things about them. They hung around. They wouldn’t go away.
Before the game Lowry looked out at the empty court, and he was asked if this was like the Philly series: a split of the first four games, two blowouts, two tight ones. He said, “nothing’s like nothing, to be honest. The playoffs are such a different thing to me. Every game is so different. This game, they’re going to come out with so much energy.
“We’ve just got to go out there and play extremely hard, understand the game plan, and know what we’ve got to do. And play with confidence. Play free.”
This was the biggest game in Raptors franchise history, just like Game 4 was, and Game 3, and Game 7 against Philadelphia, and Game 4 against the Sixers, too. Every time the season could have tipped irreparably into a hopeless place, or simply ended, this Raptors team stitched together something that was enough. Usually, Leonard and a defence from hell were both prominently involved.
Well, Game 6 is now the biggest game in franchise history, full stop. Adjust your clocks, set your watches, and prepare however you think is best. The Raptors will do the same.
The intelligence and veteran will of this team has been one of the quietly marquee things about them. They hung around