The Toronto Raptors, on the back of Pascal Siakim, won game one of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Siakim had a fantastic game and had 32 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Over the last 30 seasons, Siakam had the fifth highest points output in a finals debut, only behind Allen Iverson (48 points), Kevin Durant (36 points), Michael Jordan (36 points), and Tim Duncan (33 points).

Dominant Third Quarter Allows the Golden State Warriors to Even the Series

NBA Finals Game 2 Recap

The Golden State Warriors accomplished the goal of going back to Oracle Arena tied at one game apiece. They defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals 109-104, behind a barrage in the third quarter. On the backs of an 18-0 run, the Warriors evened the series.

Klay Thompson led Golden State on offense with 25 points on 10-17 shooting. Draymond Green had a fantastic all-around game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 34 points and 14 rebounds.

First Quarter

Game 2 started off slow as Kawhi Leonard got the scoring started for the Raptors as he knocked in a long jumper about a minute into the game. Both teams traded empty possessions for the next minute of game time. Klay Thompson and Leonard went back to back possessions hitting a three. After a few more empty possessions from each team, Thompson knocked in a mid-range jumper. Marc Gasol knocked in two free throws to put the Raptors back on top. A Thompson three gave the Warriors the lead back. After a Danny Green turnover, Thompson was fouled and split the free throws to extend the Warriors’ lead. After an empty Raptors possession and a foul on Siakim, the first stoppage in play happened.

Following a Klay Thompson miss out of the timeout, Kyle Lowry hit a three to give the lead back to the Raptors. That three sparked a seven to nothing spurt. A dunk by Draymond Green and a three by Thompson on back to back possessions cut the lead back to one before an and-one mid-range jumper by Lowry.

After a Warriors timeout, Pascal Siakam got an easy dunk before the Warriors went on a 10-0 run to grab their biggest lead of the game at 23-19. The Raptors, however, didn’t falter and went on a quick six-point spurt of their own and took the lead back 25-23. After two free throws from Stephen Curry and one from Draymond Green, Serge Ibaka ended the first quarter with a tip in the give the Raptors a 27-26 lead after one.

Second Quarter

Thompson got the scoring started for the second quarter as he looked to build on a fantastic first quarter in which he tallied 11 points. After the Thompson bucket to start the second, the Warriors went ice cold and it allowed the Raptors to go on a 10-0 scoring run over a four-minute stretch that was ended by two DeMarcus Cousins free throws. Gasol immediately answered the Cousins’ free throws with an easy layup. Following two more free throws from Cousins, Lowry and Cousins traded threes that made the score 42-35 in favor of the Raptors.

A little five to nothing spurt by Toronto gave them their biggest lead of the game at 47-35.  Jonas Jerebko ended the mini-spurt with his first two points of the game followed by Curry’s first made field goal after starting 0-6. Norma Powell immediately answered and the Warriors had to take a timeout due to an injured Andre Iguodala.

Andre Iguodala caught a Gasol screen and was down for a while…. pic.twitter.com/aIgRK2Hkib

— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 3, 2019

After the timeout, Thompson drilled a mid-range pull-up and Leonard hit two free-throws before Curry nailed another three. The two teams traded baskets over the last couple of minutes of the first half before Curry hit two free throws at the end of the half. At the half, Toronto held a 59-54 advantage.

Thompson led all scorers with 18, Leonard had 16  for Toronto. But, perhaps the story of the first half was Fred VanVleet and his 12 points off the bench.

The Third Quarter Golden State Warriors

Iguodala returned to start the third quarter and got the scoring started, followed by a Curry runner to cut the lead to one. After another miss by Leonard, Iguodala drilled a three and the third quarter Warriors were off to a blazing start to take a 61-59 lead before a Raptors timeout.

Immediately after the timeout, Gasol was called for a moving screen and Draymond Green got an easy lay-in on the other end to extend the lead. A missed three by Gasol and lay-in by Thompson extended the lead to 65-59. A missed three by Fred VanVleet led to a Thompson three and another timeout by Nick Nurse. The Warriors opened the third on a 14-0 run and raced out to a 68-59 lead.

Out of the timeout Siakam had his shot blocked. Klay Thompson then got another layup to extend the run to 16-0. Another miss by Toronto and layup by Green extended the lead to 13. VanVleet finally ended the drought with a three at the 6:20 mark of the third. After a couple of empty possessions, Draymond Green got another lay-up. Toronto then missed two more open threes to start the quarter 1-13 shooting. The Raptors got as top and Leonard converted an and-one on a nifty behind the back move. This cut the lead to 74-65. Andrew Bogut then made an appearance and converted an alley-oop. The Raptors and Warriors then traded layups as the score sat at 78-67.

Leonard drew two consecutive fouls to get Toronto in the bonus and he knocked down both free throws. After the teams traded turnovers, Siakam got a dunk to cut it to seven before a Quinn Cook three extended it back to 10. Leonard quickly answered with a three of his own as he started warming up.

Andrew Bogut is a gem. Don’t take him for granted ? pic.twitter.com/BKbcIiWut6

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 3, 2019

Curry and Leonard traded two free throws apiece before another Bogut dunk. Norman Powell then hit a twisting runner as the shot clock was winding down. The Raptors seemed to find their game but Curry hit another three to push it back to 10. Leonard made a layup to cut it to eight to end the quarter. The Warriors entered the fourth quarter with an 88-80 lead.

Fourth Quarter: NBA Finals Game 2

The fourth quarter started off poorly for Toronto. Powell missed a layup and Cousins converted for Golden State. However, following an Ibaka miss, Pascal Siakam converted a tip in. After multiple empty possessions by both teams, Lowry drilled a three to get the Raptors in striking distance. Cousins converted a layup before a Danny Green three to cut it to four. Quinn Cook responded however with a three of his own. After a miss by Toronto, Cook knocked in another, but Klay Thompson came up hobbling after the play and Serge Ibaka buried a three to cut it back to seven.

Out of the timeout Cousins recorded his sixth assist on a pass to Shaun Livingston for a layup. After two free throws by Livingston to extend the lead back to 11, Leonard converted another and-one to cut it back to eight. Both teams then struggled for numerous minutes and the lead still stood at eight when Kyle Lowry fouled out with just under four minutes to go. After another scoreless three minutes, DeMarcus Cousins was called for a foul and Curry threw the ball in the air which resulted in a technical foul. Leonard proceeded to make all three free throws to cut the lead to five.

After a turnover by the Warriors, Danny Green drilled a three to cut it to two, however that was as close as Toronto would get as Andre Iguodala answered to push the lead back to five with 5.9 seconds remaining to win NBA Finals Game 2.

Up Next in the NBA Finals

The series will shift to Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California for game three on Wednesday at 9 PM. Golden State will look to protect their home court and Toronto will look to steal home court back.

Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images