Reliving biggest takeaways from Toronto Raptors' Game 5 loss to Golden State Warriors in 2019 NBA Finals

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Kyle Lowry missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the end of the fourth quarter.

As TSN and Sportsnet continue to air every Raptors game from last year's road to the NBA title, we'll be featuring game recaps and other written content to transport you back in time for a complete experience of reliving the most memorable stretch of basketball in Toronto's history.

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This story was originally published on June 10, 2019.


The Toronto Raptors had a chance to win the NBA title in front of their home crowd. The Golden State Warriors had other ideas.

After Kevin Durant looked good in his return only to leave midway through the second quarter with an injury to the same right leg that kept him out of the first four games of this series, the Warriors rallied without their star small forward to stave off elimination and send the series back to Oakland, CA for Game 6.

Here are some key takeaways from Golden State's season-saving win.

The final minutes

With 3:28 left in the game, Kawhi Leonard hit a jump shot to put the Raptors up 103-97. It capped a two-minute stretch in which Leonard scored 10 points and seemingly put the Raptors up for good.

The Warriors responded and then survived several gaffes.

Klay Thompson hit a 3, Stephen Curry hit a game-tying 3 and then Thompson hit a go-ahead 3 with 57 seconds left.


After that point, the Warriors turned it over twice, first on a back-court violation and then on an offensive foul by DeMarcus Cousins to give the ball back to the Raptors down one with a chance to win it.

Add it all up and the Raptors shot 1-6 over the final 3:00 including 0-3 from beyond the arc. The Warriors shot a perfect 3-3 with all three makes coming from beyond the 3-point line.

Toronto

Although the Warriors turned it over three times over that final 3:00, the Raptors managed to score just two points off of those turnovers. 

Kevin Durant re-injures right leg

Playing for the first time since injuring his calf in Game 5 of the Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant got off to a hot start as he scored 11 points in 12 minutes. With 9:46 left in the second quarter, Durant tried to attack Serge Ibaka off the dribble, but immediately went to the ground and signaled to the Golden State bench.

At the time of his injury, the Warriors led 39-34 with Durant, Stephen Curry (14) and Klay Thompson (11) combining for 36 of the team's 39 points.

The latest update provided by the Warriors is that Durant sustained a right lower leg injury and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

Kawhi's heroics not enough

Entering the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard was not having a great game offensively. Through the first three quarters, he was just 4-15 from the floor including 0-4 from beyond the 3-point line. After not turning the ball over a single time in Game 4 in which he played 41 minutes, Leonard had more turnovers (5) than made shots (4) heading into the fourth quarter.

Kawhi Leonard

Then as he's done all postseason, Leonard took over.

A cold-blooded pull-up 3-pointer to give the Raptors their first lead of the game.

A pull-up bank shot on the next possession to go up three.

Another 3-pointer to respond to a Warriors make on the other end.

A fourth straight jumper to put the Raptors up 103-97.

Leonard was cooking, the crowd was going bonkers and the Raptors were three minutes away from winning the NBA title.

Then he and the rest of his teammates ran out of magic. Leonard missed both of his final jumpers during the closing stretch in which the Raptors shot just 1-6. After DeMarcus Cousins was called for an offensive foul, Leonard had the ball with the chance to win it but was forced by Golden State to give it up.

Game decided from downtown

The three biggest shots of the game were three shots from beyond the arc in the final minutes by the Splash Brothers.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to shoot 12-27 from the 3-point line, making more than the entire Raptors team who finished 8-32. Overall the Warriors made 20 3s, the most they've made in any game this postseason, the most they've ever made in a Finals game and the 2nd-most ever in a Finals game behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made 24 back in 2017 against the Warriors.

The Warriors scored 36 more points than the Raptors from beyond the 3-point line, helping offset the fact that the Warriors had three fewer field goal attempts for the game. That disparity is the 2nd-most ever in a Finals game.


Looking ahead to Game 6

Game 6 is Thursday at Oracle Arena where the Raptors are 3-0 this season.

In addition to wins in Games 3 and 4 of this series, they won there by 20 back in December. They are the only team over the last five years to win three times in one season at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors are the 35th team to go down 3-1 in the NBA Finals and with a win in Game 6 would be just the fourth to then rally back to force a Game 7.

The Cavaliers came back to win the 2016 NBA Finals against the Warriors while the 1966 Lakers and 1951 Knicks both lost in Game 7 after getting back in the series.

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Author(s)
Micah Adams Photo

Micah Adams is a Managing Editor at Sporting News.