Leonard, Raptors top Bucks in two OTS
Toronto notches first win in Eastern final
TORONTO — Pascal Siakam felt guilty about a pair of missed free throws and the extra minutes they added to his teammates’ night.
Fortunately for Siakam and the rest of the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard didn’t seem to feel any fatigue.
Leonard scored 36 points, including eight in the second overtime, as Toronto beat Milwaukee 118-112 on Sunday night to cut the Bucks’ lead in the Eastern Conference final to 2-1.
Leonard made 11 of 25 shots and went 12 for 13 at the free-throw line in playing more than 52 minutes, a playoff career high.
“At the end of the game, Kawhi said he played an hour of basketball,” Siakam said. “I told him ‘My bad.’ ”
Leonard had nine rebounds and five assists despite appearing to be bothered by some leg discomfort.
“I’m feeling all right,” Leonard said. “This is playoff basketball. Everybody’s hurting, so I’ve just got to keep fighting.”
Leonard’s previous career high in playoff minutes was 46 with San Antonio against Miami in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 18, 2013. The Spurs lost in
overtime, then lost Game 7 two days later.
Siakam had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Norman Powell scored 19 points before fouling out, and Marc Gasol had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Raptors will try to draw even when they host Game 4 on Tuesday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points and 23 rebounds before fouling out with 4:24 to go in the second overtime. Antetokounmpo shot 5-for-16.
“They were just playing better than us,” Antetokounmpo said. “Whenever we got close, they’d hit some shots and take the lead back to seven or eight. At the end of the day, it wasn’t our best game. We can get a lot better.”
Toronto won despite guards Kyle Lowry and Powell both fouling out in the fourth quarter. Siakam also missed a pair of free throws with 7.4 seconds left in regulation that could have clinched it for the Raptors.
“It’s tough,” Siakam said. “Those are shots that you practice and think about every day.”
Siakam redeemed himself by blocking a potential tying shot by Brook Lopez with 43 seconds to go in the second overtime, leading to a layup for Leonard that put Toronto up 114-110 with just over 30 seconds to play.
George Hill scored 24 points and Malcolm Brogdon had 20 for the Bucks, who lost for the first time in five road games this postseason. Milwaukee is 10-2 overall in the playoffs.
“We were right on the cusp of winning a game when we didn’t play that well,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
The Raptors led 103-99 with 1:26 to go in the first overtime, but Hill tied it at 103 by making a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left. Toronto used its final timeout to draw up a play for Leonard, who let the clock run down to 3 seconds before driving for a jumper that missed, sending it to a second extra period.
Hill’s tiebreaking basket to begin the second overtime put Milwaukee up 105-103, its first lead since the game’s opening basket.
Gasol answered with a 3 and Leonard finished a fast break with a left-handed dunk, putting Toronto up 108-105 with 3:13 left.
Khris Middleton shot 3-for-16, but one of his baskets tied the score with 2.2 seconds to go in regulation. He finished with nine points.