Raptors win first NBA championship, beat Warriors 114–110

For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions.

It was a nail-biter in Oakland with the Raptors pulling out a 114-110 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6.

Toronto becomes the first team outside the United States to win an NBA title and it is the first championship for a major Toronto sports franchise since the Argonauts in 2017.

Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA finals MVP after leading the Raptors in points throughout the entire post season.

Head Coach Nick Nurse commended his team on the victory, “We did a really good job of just keeping playing. It was kind of a fitting way our whole season where something went bad, we didn’t react, we just went to the next play and we made the next play. And we got ourselves a championship.”

Veteran Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam both had 26 points to lead the Raptors to victory. Fred VanVleet had 22 while Kawhi Leonard poured in 19.

Klay Thompson had a game-leading 30 points, but left the game in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury. The Warriors confirmed after the game that Thompson suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.

Kyle Lowry got the Raptors off to a fast start, scoring all of Toronto’s first 11 points. Siakam contributed beyond the arc as well, hitting two three-pointers shortly after.

The Raptors led 17-12 through the first five minutes of Game 6. The Warriors were quick to catch up, taking their first lead with just over two minutes left in the first, 27-26.

It remained a back-and-forth match after that with 16 lead changes.

Toronto had 13 three-pointers in the game – a far cry from their performance on Monday when they only made 8 of 32 from beyond the arc.

This was the last game played at Oracle Arena as the Warriors move across the Bay to San Francisco for the 2019-20 NBA season.

Toronto had been anxiously waiting for the second shot at their first title after the Warriors beat the Raptors by one point on Monday night.

The threat of thunderstorms had Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment contemplating whether to allow fans into Scotiabank Arena for a viewing party, but made the decision to keep Jurassic Park open after receiving a favourable weather forecast.

Mayor John Tory and Raptors Global Ambassador Drake both joined the crowd at Jurassic Park, showing their support here in Toronto.

Tory predicted a Raptors win tonight and praised fans at all the different Jurassic Parks across the GTA.

 

 

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