The Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals. It is their first championship in franchise history.
In a game where the Warriors defense stifled Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors were led by their two point guards, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet. Lowry kicked things off by scoring the Raptors first 11 points and finished with 26. VanVleet carried the load in a tight fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 22 in the final frame.
The Warriors came in desperate to win for Durant and exit their cherished home arena of 47 years in triumph. The hosts instead fell to a stunning 0-3 at home in these finals. In their first game since Durant suffered a torn right Achilles’ tendon, they proved helpless to prevent Leonard from joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players in league history to win finals M.V.P. honors with two different teams.
Thompson had 28 points when he landed on a drive to the rim that was contested by Toronto’s Danny Green. With 2:22 remaining in the third quarter. Thompson was ushered to the locker room by Jonas Jerebko and Jordan Bell, then returned to the floor to shoot the ensuing free throws to remain eligible to check back into the game.
The absence of Durant and Thompson’s eventual exit enabled Toronto to swarm Curry in the fourth quarter. The Raptors also survived big offensive showings from two stalwarts of the Warriors’ five-year run of title contention: Draymond Green totaled 11 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists for a triple-double; Andre Iguodala supplied a wholly unexpected 22 points despite missing 4 of 5 free throws.