Toronto Raptors
Last night, the Toronto Raptors managed to do what few people thought was possible: they defeated the Warriors at Golden State in two consecutive games, and now have a stranglehold on the series.
Yes, the Raptors - Canada's only remaining NBA franchise, and one of only only two Canadian franchises of the biggest sports leagues outside of the NHL - are on the verge of making history. They need only one more win in this series to capture the first NBA title in franchise history.
Toronto not only won, but managed a second consecutive convincing win against the admittedly short-handed defending champion Warriors.
It did not necessarily look like that was going to happen early in the game. Indeed, the Warriors looked like they were in championship form through the first half.
But Toronto never allowed it to get out of hand, giving themselves a chance in the second half. And, once again, Toronto began to emerge and outplay Golden State in what has traditionally been the Warriors bread and butter: the third quarter. That was when the Raptors again played their best game, hitting key shots and maintaining suffocating defense.
Fred VanVleet was sent to the lockers to get stitches after a particularly rough elbow to the face from the Warriors' Shaun Livingston.
Yet, the Raptors kept getting better as the game wore on, outplaying the defending champs in both the third and fourth quarter, as they pulled the game out of reach, ultimately taking it, 105-92.
So, the Raptors just need one more win to take this series. They will get their first chance to wrap it all up in Game 5 in Toronto on Monday.
Toronto not only won, but managed a second consecutive convincing win against the admittedly short-handed defending champion Warriors.
It did not necessarily look like that was going to happen early in the game. Indeed, the Warriors looked like they were in championship form through the first half.
But Toronto never allowed it to get out of hand, giving themselves a chance in the second half. And, once again, Toronto began to emerge and outplay Golden State in what has traditionally been the Warriors bread and butter: the third quarter. That was when the Raptors again played their best game, hitting key shots and maintaining suffocating defense.
Fred VanVleet was sent to the lockers to get stitches after a particularly rough elbow to the face from the Warriors' Shaun Livingston.
Yet, the Raptors kept getting better as the game wore on, outplaying the defending champs in both the third and fourth quarter, as they pulled the game out of reach, ultimately taking it, 105-92.
So, the Raptors just need one more win to take this series. They will get their first chance to wrap it all up in Game 5 in Toronto on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment