The Toronto Raptors won the Eastern Conference title, after beating the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Last night, the Raptors closed the series at their own court with a 100-94 win.
It was a tough clash in which Milwaukee had 15 points of advantage on two occasions. The guests started the contest much better, winning the first quarter with 31-18. The guests were up 76-61 in the third period, but an unreal 26-3 surge of the home team changed everything.
The guests couldn’t do anything but to watch how their lead melts and how championship dreams disappear. In the end, home team neutralized the biggest favorite for winning the NBA MVP award, Giannis Antetokounmpo who managed to score just three of his 21 points in the final sequence. That was the key to their success.
On the other side, the best player of the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard was superb. The Claw had a double-double with 27 points and 17 rebounds and was there in the decisive moments. His dunk over Giannis in the fourth period definitely changed the course of the game and is something which marked the entire series.
Besides Kawhi, Pascal Siakam scored 18 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 with 8 assists, while Fred VanVleed delivered 14 of the bench.
For the Bucks, Giannis had 21 buckets, 11 boards, 4 assists, three blocks and a couple of steals. Brook Lopez added 18 and had 9 boards, Middleton 14, Ilyasova 13.
The Raptors will face two-time defending champs, Golden State Warriors in the finals. Dub Nation is the favorite, but they won’t have the home-court advantage in this series like they used to do in previous years.
