Warriors even up NBA Finals with win over Raptors
Posted Jun 2, 2019 4:50 pm.
Andre Iguodala’s 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left was the clincher as the Golden State Warriors held off the Toronto Raptors 109-104 on Sunday, evening the best-of-seven NBA Finals at 1-1.
Stephen Curry scored 23 points for the Warriors while Klay Thompson scored 25 points before leaving with an injury as the Warriors scored the first 18 points of the second half to take the lead for good.
Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Raptors, his 12th 30-point game of these playoffs, while Fred VanVleet had 17 and Kyle Lowry contributed 13 points.
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The Raptors led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but were done in by an awful third quarter that saw the Warriors race out to an 18-0 run while fans were still filing back to their seats. The Raptors turned the ball over five times and missed their first nine shots in the ugly stretch.
A split isn’t bad news for the Raptors, with 12 of the 17 teams who won the first game going on to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy when the series is tied 1-1.
Among the stars in the building for Sunday’s game was 44 – Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States and noted basketball fan.
Obama was accompanied by Raptors president Masai Ujiri as he walked past the Toronto dressing room prior to the game. He was seated next to NBA commissioner Adam Silver near the floor of the lower bowl. Obama and Drake exchanged a hug and a handshake before taking their separate seats.
Drake was in his normal courtside perch.
Other celebs said to be in attendance at Scotiabank Arena were actors David Boreanaz and David Castaneda, singer-musicians Alessia Cara, Fantasia, J. Cole, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd and manager Amir (Cash) Esmailian, Steve Aoki and Flo Rida, golfers Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Justin Thomas and Danny Willett, Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri, GM Kyle Dubas and president Brendan Shanahan and Toronto Argonauts James Wilder Jr., and S.J. Green.
Canadian musicians Win Butler, Dallas Green, Paul Langlois and two members of the Arkells were also in the house.
Fantasia, wearing an eye-popping red sequined jumpsuit, sang the U.S. national anthem while Cara, clad in a Raptors jersey, looked after “O Canada.”
