What a fantastic night at Scotiabank Arena, and what a thrilling Game 3 that was! Almost a whole hour of play, and more than 3 hours in real time, and in the end – the first win for the Raptors in this series, and probably the team’s best game of the post-season.
Kawhi Leonard once again led his team to victory, scoring 36 points, including 8 in the second overtime. In the end, the Raptors took a 118-112 victory over the Bucks, cutting their lead in the Finals to 2-1.
The Raptors will have the chance to even the series on Tuesday when the two teams face each other in Game 4 in Toronto.
Pascal Siakam ended the night with a double-double, thanks to his 25 points and 11 rebounds. Marc Gasol was much, much better than in Game 2, contributing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Powell had 19 off the bench, while Fred Van Vleet had the game of the post-season with 6 assists. Kyle Lowry had 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, but ended the game in the fourth quarter, after being fouled out.
Leonard spent 52 minutes on the court, with a perfect 3 for 3 shooting in the last five minutes of the match. What a season for Kawhi who played only 9 games last year due to a serious injury that threatened to end his career. The tension rose, Leonard remained calm, once again leading the Raptors to a win.
George Hill scored 24 points for the Bucks, Malcolm Brogdon had 20, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points and 23 rebounds. The “Greek Freak” was fouled out in the second overtime.
What a Game!
Toronto was up for the better part of the game, even leading by double digits in the first 12 minutes of the game. But as the game progressed, that advantage melted, and the Bucks entered the fourth quarter with a deficit of only 2 points.
Lowry and Leonard increased the Raptors lead to 8, but Antetokounmpo didn’t let the home team further increase that advantage.
With a little over 4 minutes left on the clock, the Bucks managed to even the score. The game’s finish was extremely exciting, especially the last 60 seconds. Brogdon brought his team within 2 points 38 seconds before the buzzer, while Siakam could have ended the game in regular time, but missed 2 free throws 7.4 seconds before the end. Khris Middleton evened the score, while another Siakam’s missed sent the game into overtime.
After Toronto missed the chance to clinch the game, being up by four in the first overtime, Brogdon and Hill evened the score with 14.5 seconds left on the click. Leonard missed for the win, and the game went into the second overtime.
The Raptors were soon leading by 3, but the Bucks managed to cut that lead to just 1. With a minute left on the clock, Toronto was leading by two. Siakam made an important block, and Leonard scored to give the Raptors a much-needed win.
You can find the best odds for the upcoming Game 4 at Betway.