The Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia Sixers 92-90 in an epic seventh game that Kawhi Leonard decided with a basket on the buzzer, while CJ McCollum sentenced the Nuggets in the Blazers’ 100-96 win in Denver.
The Raptors will now face the Milwaukee Bucks in the East finals and Portland will meet the Warriors in the West last instance.
In a game in which the Canadians based their entire game on Leonard, the Raptors were more successful in the final minutes and the former Spurs dressed up as a hero by scoring without space and time to give his team the victory.
“I feel great. I threw as hard as I could, “summed up the forward after the match.
The ball hit the hoop and sauntered over it for a few eternal final tenths, which shook the souls of fans and players before entering.
Cameroonian center Joel Embiid, defender of Kawhi in the last possession, headed to the locker room with his head down and tears in his eyes, reflecting the sentiment of a team that was millimeters from the conference final.
In a very tight final two minutes, in which neither let their guard down, defenses rose and each point was worth gold, Leonard missed a free throw to put Toronto 90-88 but Jimmy Butler equalized with four seconds to go.
Then, when everyone was already waiting for overtime, Kawhi signed another great feat in his career to advance the Raptors.
The forward finished with 41 points and eight rebounds after shooting 39 (16/39) of his team’s 89 shots.
The Spanish-Congolese Serge Ibaka shone with 17 points and eight sacks from the bench and the Spanish Marc Gasol contributed seven and eleven, also signing an excellent defense over Embiid.
The Sixers star walked away with 21 points (6/18) in 45 minutes, while Butler sealed 16, Ben Simmons 13, JJ Redick 17 and Tobias Harris 15.
– McCollum decides –
In the first game of the evening, the Trail Blazers gave the surprise by beating the Nuggets 100-96 on the road with a star CJ McCollum and now they will collide with the champions Golden State Warriors.
In a meeting in which Damian Lillard had one of the grayer games of his career in shooting, with 13 points on 3/17 on the pitch, McCollum emerged as Portland’s main weapon, keeping the Blazers alive when most They needed him in the first half and sentencing in the last minutes with decisive baskets.
Thus, the guard finished with 37 points, 14 of them in the third quarter, plus nine rebounds and a series of 17/29.
«For me it is about appearing in every game. Lillard is the heart of our team. He’s the one that brought us here. It’s amazing how hard everyone works (on our team), ”McCollum celebrated after the crash.
“It is possibly the most important victory for the franchise in a long time. Being a part of it and the way we’ve done it, I’m happy for our guys, ”said coach Terry Stotts.
The Nuggets enjoyed a maximum advantage of 17 points in the second quarter but the Blazers never lowered their arms, they were gradually cutting their margin and took the lead in the middle of the last period to never let go of it again.
Thus, with less than half a minute ahead and 96-95 for Portland, McCollum asked for the ball and scored with 11 seconds left to put Oregon’s 98-95. Serbian center Nikola Jokic was then fouled, missed his first free kick and the match died from the personnel line.
Jokic finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds, Gary Harris with 15 points and Jamal Murray with 17.
The Blazers will play the West final this way for the first time since 2000.
Opposite will be the Warriors from Tuesday, who lost in the semifinals of the Houston Rockets by a 4-2 aggregate.
Kevin Durant will be a doubt for the first game after suffering a strain in his right calf during Game 5 against the Texans. AFP