The Toronto Raptors went into Oracle Arena and came out with a second straight victory, taking a 3-1 series lead. What were the five biggest takeaways from this game?
The Toronto Raptors did their job when they won Game 3 on the road. Worst case scenario they were going to split the two games in Oakland and be heading home tied 2-2.
But that wasn’t good enough for this year’s Raptors team. The sharks didn’t settle for a split. When they smelt blood in the water, they went for it.
The Raptors started the game off poorly. Golden State was generating easy looks through confusion and back screens at one end; Toronto failed to knock down several open looks at the other. With 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Warriors were up 11.
On the road, it would have been easy for the Raptors to limp into the TV timeout. Instead, Kawhi Leonard ripped off five straight points and a Stephen Curry layup was reviewed and overturned at the end of the quarter. After the first frame, the Raptors were only down four, even if it felt like 50.
During the second, both teams went ice-cold from beyond the arc, combining to shoot 1-15 on three-point attempts during that time. Toronto would have fallen farther behind if it wasn’t for the amazing play of Serge Ibaka. At the half, it felt as if Golden State should have been up 30; instead, it was a two-point game.
The third quarter is when the Raptors made their run. They outscored the Warriors by 16 during the after-break period, thanks to a huge performance by Kawhi Leonard. After hanging around like that weird “friend” you can never seem to ditch, for the first two quarters, Toronto took control in the third. Now, they just needed to hold even for the fourth.
That’s exactly what they did. The two teams traded buckets back-and-forth, pushing the lead somewhere between 10-15 nearly the entire time. Toronto held on and now will return back home with a chance at an NBA title.
But what did we learn from this game? Here are my five biggest takeaways