Toronto almost threw away Game 6 of The Finals in a similar fashion as they did Game 5 but 12 fourth-quarter points from Fred VanVleet helped push the Raptors past Golden State 114-110 and to the franchise’s first NBA title.
A Danny Green turnover with 9.0 seconds remaining gave the Warriors the ball while trailing by just a point. Stephen Curry missed a quality look from 3 in the waning moments, saving the Raptors from blowing their second straight six-point lead with three or fewer minutes remaining.
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry came out on fire to begin Game 6, making five of his first six shots, including four in a row from 3. He and Pascal Siakam finished with a team-high 26 points.
Klay Thompson went toe-to-toe with Lowry and the Raptors, scoring 30 points in the first three quarters with four 3s. His night came to a premature end, however, when he was fouled hard in the final minutes of the third. He immediately headed to the locker room before turning around to shoot a pair of free throws. Thompson then returned to the locker room and eventually left Oracle Arena on crutches with an apparent knee injury.
Golden State’s loss also marked an underwhelming end to its tenure in Oakland. The team is moving to San Francisco, where it will play in Chase Center beginning next season.
Kawhi Leonard was named Finals MVP, becoming just the third player to win the honor with two different teams (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James are the others). Leonard averaged 28.5 points in the Finals. He is now tasked with deciding which team he will play for next season.
