Send this page to someone via email Kawhi Leonard’s jump shot from the corner at the buzzer lifted the Toronto Raptors to a thrilling 92-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers – and into the Eastern Conference Finals for just the second time in franchise history. Leonard had 15 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, and corralled the ball with four seconds left before the launching the winning basket. The Raptors face the Bucks, who dispatched Boston in five games, in the Eastern Conference final, beginning Wednesday in Milwaukee. Serge Ibaka had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Pascal Siakam finished with 11 points and 11 boards, and Kyle Lowry had 10 points despite playing most of the night with a taped left thumb he sprained early in the second quarter. Marc Gasol grabbed 11 rebounds to go with seven points. Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Kawhi Leonard calls game-winning shot a ‘blessing’ 0:25 Kawhi Leonard calls game-winning shot a ‘blessing’ Kawhi Leonard calls game-winning shot a ‘blessing’ – May 12, 2019 Joel Embiid led his team with 21 points as all five Philadelphia starters finished in double digits. JJ Redick added 17 points and Jimmy Butler had 16. The see-saw series had some wild momentum shifts, with a couple of blowouts on both sides. The Raptors set a franchise record for margin of victory in the post-season with their 125-89 Game 5 rout, but rather than comfortably close the series in six games in Philly, they dropped a 112-101 decision in Thursday’s Game 6 at Wells Fargo Center. Sunday’s game certainly wasn’t pretty, particularly by post-season standards. WATCH: Kawhi Leonard on Raptors fans – ‘they were big for us’ 0:31 Kawhi Leonard on Raptors fans: ‘they were big for us’ Kawhi Leonard on Raptors fans: ‘they were big for us’ – May 12, 2019 The Raptors shot 21 per cent in the first quarter, and the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the league since the Gasol trade in February, might as well have been masquerading as the worst. They missed their first eight three-point attempts before Ibaka finally connected a minute into the second. Story continues below advertisement The lead changed hands six times in the first half, but neither team led by double digits. When Gasol scored on a floater at 9:28 in the third quarter, Toronto took its biggest lead of the game – nine points. The Sixers responded with a 16-0 run to go up by seven, but the Raptors replied and Ibaka’s layup with 7.7 seconds left in the third gave Toronto a 67-64 lead with one quarter left. A Scotiabank Arena crowd, that included former Raptors point guard Jose Calderon, was on its feet for most of the final nailbiting 12 minutes that saw Leonard score five straight points to put Toronto up by five with 4:48 to play. WATCH: Kyle Lowry says Raptors’ offensive play ‘could have been better’ 0:30 Kyle Lowry says Raptors’ offensive play ‘could have been better’ Kyle Lowry says Raptors’ offensive play ‘could have been better’ – May 12, 2019 Toronto’s defence locked down in the final couple of minutes. Leonard broke a tie with a long two-pointer, then Lowry stole the ball off Tobias Harris and Siakam finished with a layup that had the ear-splitting crowd roaring their approval and put Toronto up by four heading into the final minute. Story continues below advertisement A free throw by Butler and two from Embiid with 12.1 seconds made it a one-point game. Leonard was fouled and missed one of his free throws and then Butler sprinted downcourt for the tying layup with 4.2 seconds to play. On the final thrilling play, Leonard took an inbound from Gasol and shot from just in front of the Raptors bench. He connected. The arena exploded. The Jumbotron panned to the hundreds of bundled-up, celebrating fans watching the game outside the arena in Maple Leaf Square on a chilly 6 C night. A loss would’ve been deemed a big disappointment for a squad that team president Masai Ujiri rebuilt specifically with a big but short-term goal in mind – a berth in the NBA Finals – acquiring Leonard and Danny Green for much-loved DeMar DeRozan last summer, and then acquiring Gasol for Jonas Valanciunas at the trade deadline. Story continues below advertisement Among the questions that hinge on these playoffs is the future of Leonard. Both coaches talked pre-game about the magnitude of a Game 7. WATCH: Nick Nurse says series against Milwaukee ‘totally different style’ 1:04 Nick Nurse says series against Milwaukee ‘totally different style’ Nick Nurse says series against Milwaukee ‘totally different style’ – May 12, 2019 “I think you would tend to think that in a long coaching career this is really, really, really big, biggest moment ever, but I think back to when I was getting ready to coach the Manchester Giants versus the Birmingham Bullets back in 2000, it meant a lot to me in the moment,” Toronto’s Nick Nurse said. “I can’t imagine it meaning any more. I’ve had a lot of those times in my career and it feels similar.” Sixers coach Brett Brown said his staff of 14 had spent the previous night dining at swish Yorkville restaurant Sotto Sotto. Story continues below advertisement “I will be on a mission personally to help our players get through this,” Brown said. “To have a demeanour of solid. That’s my role in a game like today. To help our guys, to tell them the truth when things aren’t going the way that we want, and to steady the ship. Keep the boys in the boat.” WATCH: Nurse says Raptors made shots which helped fuel defence 1:09 Nurse says Raptors made shots which helped fuel defence Nurse says Raptors made shots which helped fuel defence – May 7, 2019 The Raptors shot just 5-for-24 in the first quarter, including 0-for-8 from behind the arc, yet still managed to build a seven-point lead when Green poked the ball away from Embiid and finish with a dunk eight minutes into the game. Leonard led the way with eight points in the quarter, and Toronto took an 18-13 lead into the second. A three-pointer by Harris capped a 14-2 Philly run in the second that gave the visitors a four-point lead. But the Raptors fired back with an 11-3 run punctuated by a Lowry three-point play that saw Toronto head into the locker-room at halftime up 44-40. Story continues below advertisement The Raptors had played in five previous Game 7s, most recently in 2016 when Lowry scored 35 points to help Toronto beat Miami to move on to the conference finals. The Raptors lost 88-87 to Philadelphia in the 2001 conference semifinals when a Vince Carter jump shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim. The Sixers went on to play Milwaukee in the conference final. WATCH: Toronto Raptors win series with Kawhi Leonard’s historic shot 2:21 Toronto Raptors win series with Kawhi Leonard’s historic shot Toronto Raptors win series with Kawhi Leonard’s historic shot – May 13, 2019<doc-sep>Kawhi Leonard hit a shot from the corner over Joel Embiid at the buzzer that bounced off the rim four times before falling in to give the Toronto Raptors a 92-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. It was the first winning buzzer-beater in a Game 7 in NBA history. “It was great,” Leonard said. “That’s something I never experienced before, Game 7, a game-winning shot. It was a blessing to be able to get to that point and make that shot and feel that moment.” After Philadelphia’s Jimmy Butler tied the game with a driving lay-up with 4.2 seconds left, Toronto used their final timeout to draw up a play for Leonard, who dribbled toward the right corner and launched the high-arcing shot. It bounced to the top of the backboard, hit the near side of the rim again, then the other side twice before going through, setting off wild celebrations as the Raptors advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the second time in four seasons. They will open the conference final on Wednesday night at Milwaukee. Leonard scored 41 points on 16-of-39 shooting. Serge Ibaka added 17 points, and Pascal Siakam had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Embiid led the 76ers with 21 points and 11 rebounds. JJ Redick had 17 points, Butler added 16, and Tobias Harris had 14 points and 10 rebounds.<doc-sep>
Game journal from the best win in Toronto Raptors history by Mike Bossetti The Toronto Raptors won Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers on a crazy buzzer beater. What were the three biggest takeaways from the contest? The best game. The best player. The best moment in franchise history. The Toronto Raptors just completed one of the craziest playoff series in a long time, a back-and-forth seven-game battle with the Raptors prevailing. It was a hard-nosed defensive battle that saw both teams miss a plethora of shots. Toronto controlled most of the game, but in the end, it was essentially a coin toss who would win. The difference? One team had Kawhi Leonard. The other did not. As great of a moment, as it is, they won’t be celebrating for long. Toronto moves on to the Eastern Conference Finals, and now, will have to face the 60-win Milwaukee Bucks. But before we go there, let’s enjoy the moment, and take a look at the three biggest takeaways from a thrilling Game 7 victory: A historic moment The Toronto Raptors franchise has never had a moment like this. They’ve had success, they’ve won big-time games, but they’ve never done this. For the time being, this is the greatest moment in franchise history. The shot also helps cement Leonard’s place as the best Raptor of all time. If you believe greatest Raptor should belong to a player with more career achievements and longevity, that’s fair. But the BEST player to ever wear a Raptor uniform is 2018-2019 Kawhi Leonard. No matter what happens next, Raptor fans should enjoy this moment. Success is hard to find in this league, and what happened on Sunday night is truly special. What a slugfest Due to the hype and player nerves, often times Game 7s aren’t a great on-court product. For most of this game, both team’s struggled to generate consistent offense. The Raptors were ultra-aggressive blitzing the pick-and-roll, particularly against Butler. As a result, the 76ers offense looked disconnected and chaotic throughout the game. It seemed like Philly was constantly against the clock, barely getting a shot up before the clock buzzed. On the other end, Toronto couldn’t buy a basket. They finished 7-27 from three (26-percent) on relatively decent looks. Players not named Serge Ibaka went 4-23 from beyond the arc. Ultimately, the Raptors won, not due to their shooting abilities, but the number of shots they got up. Toronto attempted 21 more shots than the Philadelphia as the Raptors won the battle on the offensive glass 15-5 and won the turnover battle 9-14. Here come the Bucks As great as this moment was, the Raptors haven’t even made it to the finals yet. Toronto’s reward for having the greatest moment in franchise history is a 60-win Bucks team who will be well rested heading into the third round. Toronto has some questions to answer before round three. Can Norman Powell get back on the court? Will anyone find a rhythm from outside? Can someone besides Kawhi generate offense? If they don’t answer those questions, this celebration might be short-lived. But for now, it’s OK to just enjoy the win. The Toronto Raptors are moving on.