Kawhi Leonard came to Toronto with the idea that he could get another title, one that would match the one he had already achieved with San Antonio.
With another victory, the star will have the opportunity to contest the series in pursuit of another ring. And that victory seems likely, if Leonard plays the way he did.
He shone with 35 points and the Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-99 to get one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals.
“I’m not scared right now,” Leonard said. “This is what I’ve trained for… I’m just trying to win. For me, the important thing is to be aggressive and not shy away from anything ”.
Leonard was the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals in 2014, when the Spurs won the title. And he is about to close his first season in Toronto, after requesting that San Antonio give him up in a trade.
Neither the Raptors nor Leonard have any complaints about that transaction.
Leonard’s playoff performance includes a shot just as the buzzer sounded for Toronto to beat Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal. And in the final of the conference he has not stopped contributing.
With no sign of the leg pain that plagued him in the previous two games, Leonard reached thirty for the fourth time in the series. The star hit five 3s, grabbed seven rebounds and delivered nine assists as the Raptors took a 3-2 lead in the East final.
Toronto is the first visitor to win this series.
Fred VanVleet added 21 points, hitting seven triples. Kyle Lowry added 17 points for the Raptors, who can seal the passport for the first final in their history. If they win at home on Saturday, they will face Golden State, the two-time defending NBA champion.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points for Milwaukee, hours after he was unanimously selected to the NBA Dream Team.
“We are not going to give up,” Antetokounmpo said. “We were the best team in the league (in the regular season). Man, we’re not giving up. We will give everything we have. We cannot give up, we will return to Milwaukee more focused ”. AP