The Kings of the North are now NBA Champions.
Playing on the road in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Raptors ended the Golden State Warrior’s run as NBA champs by winning the last-ever game at Oracle Arena in Oakland to snag Toronto its first-ever championship.
The match was a tight one with 18 lead changes and nine ties, but in the end it was Toronto that prevailed with a 114-110 win.
Golden State had a chance to take a lead with less than 10 seconds left, but a Steph Curry 3-point attempt was off the mark and then, calling to mind Chris Webber of the University of Michigan Fab Five squad during 1993 NCAA championship game, Draymond Green called timeout even though the team had none.
Chaos after the Curry game-winning attempt and Draymond tries to call a timeout with none left…. pic.twitter.com/cRQIjZb53w
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 14, 2019
A technical foul was called and it was all academic from there with Kawhi Leonard, who was named NBA Finals MVP, icing the game and silencing Oracle’s final crowd with free throws.
Leonard ended his evening with 22 points. Teammate Kyle Lowry had 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Pascal Siakam had 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Led by @pskills43's clutch floater, 👀 the TOP 3 PLAYS from Game 6 of the #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV! pic.twitter.com/D5aOhdfU0p
— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2019
In addition to losing the game, the Warriors also lost free-agent-to-be Klay Thompson to a torn ACL in his left knee late in the third quarter of Golden State’s loss. The injury comes a day after current Warrior and fellow free-agent-to-be Kevin Durant had surgery to repair a torn Achilles.
Durant is expected to miss all of next season and the diagnosis for Thompson could be the same. The injuries to those two potential big-ticket free agents complicate what was already shaping up to be a complicated offseason — Leonard is a free agent as well.
But the Raptors aren’t worrying about the future of their Finals MVP right now. They’re just content to celebrate the first title in franchise’s 24-year history.
Kawhi celebrations x #PhantomCam#WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/ytAvGOXeYV
— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2019
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