{"id":21235,"date":"2019-06-07T23:46:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T03:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=21235"},"modified":"2019-06-08T10:16:33","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T14:16:33","slug":"nba-finals-game-4-recap-toronto-raptors-take-commanding-3-1-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/06\/07\/nba-finals-game-4-recap-toronto-raptors-take-commanding-3-1-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Finals Game 4 Recap: Toronto Raptors Take Commanding 3-1 Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Toronto Raptors<\/a> escaped Oakland with two consecutive NBA Finals victories, and are now just a win away from their first title. Toronto pulled out a 105-92 win over the Golden State Warriors<\/a> Friday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead over the defending champions.<\/p>\n

NBA Finals Game 4 Recap<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Golden State superstar Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong> missed his fourth consecutive\u00a0Finals game Friday night. However, Klay Thompson<\/a><\/strong> and Kevon Looney<\/a><\/strong> both returned to action despite suffering injuries in Game 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kawhi Leonard<\/a><\/strong> was the star of the night. His teammates played great basketball, but the quiet superstar showed out with perhaps his greatest Finals performance yet. He put up 36 points on 11-for-22 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds. Serge Ibaka<\/a><\/strong> had perhaps his\u00a0<\/em>best Finals performance as well. He finished with 20 points on 9-for12 shooting.<\/p>\n

Thompson was the star of the night for Golden State, proving his value to the dynasty. He had 21 and 25 points in his first two games of the Finals before missing Game 3 with a hamstring injury<\/a>. He followed up the first two performances with a phenomenal 28 point outing in Game 4. Stephen Curry<\/a><\/strong> was unable to follow up his outstanding 47-point performance, managing “just” 27 points.<\/p>\n

First Quarter<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Both teams got off to a lackluster start, missing shots left and right. Danny Green<\/a> <\/strong>followed up his stunning Game 3 performance by starting the game 0-3 from 3-point range and 0-for-4 overall. In fact, the Raptors finished the first quarter shooting an abysmal 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. Leonard was the only highlight of the first period, keeping the Raptors in the contest thanks to a 5-for-8 outing. The rest of Toronto’s starters went 1-for-13.<\/p>\n

The Warriors warmed up to end the quarter, going on a quick 10-2 run with just a few minutes left. Leonard was able to neutralize the run, hitting a triple and notching a couple more buckets before the buzzer.<\/p>\n

The Warriors were able to take a 23-17 lead into the second quarter.<\/p>\n

Second Quarter<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ibaka put the team on his back to start the quarter, scoring the first six points for Toronto to cut the Golden State lead to just 4 points. The Warriors started to wake up, with Thompson, Curry, and Draymond Green<\/a><\/strong> all hitting shots down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Though it felt like the Warriors were pulling away as Thompson got hot, Leonard and Pascal Siakam<\/a><\/strong> were able to keep Toronto afloat throughout the period. The Raptors kept chipping away until they found themselves down just 4 points at halftime, 46-42.<\/p>\n

Leonard and Thompson both led their respective teams with 14 points each. Kyle Lowry<\/a><\/strong>, Ibaka, Curry and the injured Looney all had 8 points in the half.<\/p>\n

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Klay was ON FIRE to end the first half. \ud83d\udd25#StrengthInNumbers<\/a> | #NBAFinals<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/tuUnw8s7ql<\/a><\/p>\n

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 8, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n