Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In final trip to Oracle, stakes are sky high
As Raptors eye title, Warriors wary of sad Oakland farewell
TORONTO — The NBA Finals are making one last trip to Oracle Arena.
For the Raptors, it’s a second shot at a first championship.
For the Warriors, it’ll be a night to play for a fallen teammate and the fans they’re leaving behind.
Game 6 is Thursday and the stakes could hardly be higher.
“We owe our fans one more game in Oracle,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said.
There have been so many already during the Warriors’ stretch of five straight trips to the NBA Finals, the second-longest run in NBA history. But few had all the drama and emotion that will fill the Oakland air Thursday.
The Raptors will bring a 3-2 lead into the building and try again to win a title that seemed so close in Game 5. The Raptors had a six-point lead with less than 3 minutes remaining Monday, poised to put an end to a Golden era in the NBA. Then Thompson and Stephen Curry rallied the Warriors to a 106-105 victory, fueled by three straight 3-pointers.
Now the Raptors have to do things a little bit better, for a little bit longer.
“Come out and do the same thing. Just be mentally focused, try to limit our mistakes, and be the aggressor,” Kawhi Leonard said. “Just play hard 48 minutes and see what happens.”
It’s the last game in the arena before the Warriors move to the new Chase Center in San Francisco, and the first one for the Warriors with the knowledge that Kevin Durant won’t be back this season.
The two-time defending champions began the series hoping he could return from a strained right calf, but not long after he did he was lost in the second quarter of Game 5.
ESPN reported that the Warriors believe Durant, who before Monday hadn’t played since May 8, suffered a torn Achilles.
Center Kevon Looney also went out again after aggravating a fracture near his chest and ribcage. But Looney said he “should be able to play in Game 6.”
Either way, the Warriors are nowhere near full strength as they make their final stand.
“It’s not like we’re the only team battling,” Draymond Green said. “They’re battling as well. Everybody is facing fatigue at this point. No one cares who is tired or if you’re facing a little fatigue. You’ve got to do what you came here to do anyway.”
The Warriors are trying to become the 12th team to come back from a 3-1 deficit and only the second in the NBA Finals, after the Cleveland Cavaliers did it against them in 2016.
Being back home Thursday is a luxury but certainly no guarantee, not after the Raptors won Games 3 and 4 at Oracle Arena to go along with their victory there in the regular season.
So the Raptors won’t be rattled by having to go back there, even though they nearly avoided it.
“We came into this series expecting a long series and we put ourselves in a good position,” guard Fred VanVleet said.