Leonard's wild buzzer-beater tows Raptors to East finals (Agence France-Presse) - May 13, 2019 - 10:41am LOS ANGELES – Kawhi Leonard bounced in the game-winning shot at the buzzer as the Toronto Raptors advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 92-90 win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in a heart-stopping Game Seven on Sunday (Monday Manila time). Game Seven was a microcosm of the wildly unpredictable series with each team taking turns making runs or being inept until the biggest twist of all from Leonard finished it off in dramatic style. "I got a fortuitous bounce," said Leonard. "I just shot it as hard as I could. I got some loft on it and it made the ball bounce soft and it ended up going in." The Raptors advance to the NBA Final Four where they will play the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in game one of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday. With the score tied 90-90 and the game appearing to be headed … [Read more...] about Leonard’s wild buzzer-beater tows Raptors to East finals
Leonard
Leonard leads Raptors to series-tying win over 76ers
Leonard leads Raptors to series-tying win over 76ers (Agence France-Presse) - May 6, 2019 - 10:26am LOS ANGELES – Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to propel the Toronto Raptors to a 101-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that knotted their NBA playoff series at two games apiece. Spanish center Marc Gasol added 16 points and Kyle Lowry contributed 14 for the Raptors, who held ailing Sixers center Joel Embiid to 11 points on two-of-seven shooting from the field. The Raptors will try to seize a series lead when the action shifts back to Toronto for game five on Tuesday. After losing back-to-back games, Leonard said the Raptors' mindset was to "come in and play hard". "The whole team concept was coming in and playing harder, being smarter and take your shots," Leonard said. "We needed it. This is a big win, but we've got to come back and get it for game five." Leonard scored 17 points and grabbed … [Read more...] about Leonard leads Raptors to series-tying win over 76ers
Raptors drop Game 2 after Sixers exploit Leonard’s weakness
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/raptors/opinion/2019/04/29/raptors-drop-game-2-after-sixers-exploit-leonards-weakness/raptors_sixers_rebound.jpg)
By Bruce Arthur Sports Columnist Mon., April 29, 2019 It has become fashionable, and not entirely inaccurate, to say that James Harden of Houston has broken basketball. You can’t guard him without setting off an intense debate over officiating, apparently. It’s exhausting. But quietly, Kawhi Leonard has been in the process of breaking the game in his own Easter Island statue way. Going into Toronto’s Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers, some people had compared his playoff season to Michael Jordan, but there was a difference: Jordan was never this efficient, if only because nobody else has been, either. And so in Toronto’s 94-89 loss, the Sixers went after Leonard’s weakness, and found everybody else’s. He is an unprecedented killer, but he’s not much for making his teammates better. So they had to do it — enough of it — themselves. Shooting guard Danny Green had a three to tie with a minute left; he … [Read more...] about Raptors drop Game 2 after Sixers exploit Leonard’s weakness
LIVE: Leonard, Raptors look to build on series lead against 76ers
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/raptors/2019/04/29/live-raptors-76ers-to-square-off-in-game-2-of-nba-playoffs-second-round/kawhi.jpg)
By Doug Smith Sports Reporter Mon., April 29, 2019 The Toronto Raptors are home once again to try and take care of business in Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors are trying to do something Monday night they’ve only done once in their history. Taking a 1-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Toronto can go up 2-0 in a best-of-seven series for only the second time. They won the first two games of an opening round series with the Washington Wizards last season and eventually closed that out in six games. The Raptors will be looking for a repeat performance from Kawhi Leonard, who scored a personal playoff high 45 points in Game 1 while also trying to keep Sixers all-star centre Joel Embiid in check. Embiid had just 16 points in Game 1 after averaging more than 24 points per game in the first round of the playoffs. Article Continued Below Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday night in … [Read more...] about LIVE: Leonard, Raptors look to build on series lead against 76ers
News NBA: Sixers hope to stop Leonard, end Toronto skid in Game 2
The Philadelphia 76ers will be facing a double whammy when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Monday night in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. They must figure out how to win in Toronto and, more importantly, how to deal with Kawhi Leonard, who scored a career playoff-best 45 points in the Raptors' 108-95 Game 1 victory on Saturday. "He's a tough player, I mean he's Kawhi," said Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, who matched up against Leonard. "He's a physical guy, a lot of length; he can shoot the ball, so he's a tough guy to match up on." "Incrementally, just every year he gets more dominant," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "That was again, a big time performance at both ends," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "And I just like the force that he is playing with at both ends, but especially when he is getting the ball. He is pushing it up the floor, he is punching gaps with force, and he is determined to get to spaces." READ: Durant's 35 points carry Warriors past Rockets in Game 1 … [Read more...] about News NBA: Sixers hope to stop Leonard, end Toronto skid in Game 2