NBA Finals: First Three Games Recap

The NBA playoffs have come to a close with the last game of the NBA finals. The Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors battled for the 2018-2019 season championship. Although, they wanted to win for different reasons. This was the first NBA finals that the Raptors had played in, making the importance of winning for their city and country much greater. The Warriors fought to extend their legacy as the league champions and completely claim the title of the best team ever. Everyone, outside of Oakland, was cheering Toronto on, because they wanted the reign of the Warriors to come to a close, and a new champion to arise. This didn’t change the odds though, as the Warriors were the heavy favorite to win the series.

Game 1 of the NBA finals changed everyone’s mindset about this series. The Warriors were thought to be unbeatable, unless Lebron was on the opposing team, but surprisingly, the Raptors took Game 1. Pascal Siakam led the Raptors to a 118-109 win, with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 32 points, shooting at 82% from the field. He had probably the best game of his career when they needed him the most. Other players stepped up too, like Gasol with 20 points and 7 rebounds, and Fred Vanvleet with 15 points. Kawhi Leonard, who has had one of the best postseasons in NBA history, had 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Warriors looked rattled as they walked around the loud stadium in Toronto. Stephen Curry had 34 points, Klay Thompson had 21 points, and Draymond Green had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Besides these three players, the Warriors played a horrible game.

Game 2 of the NBA finals caused even more hype than game 1 though. If Toronto found a way to win the 2nd game and go up 2-0, this would be the first time that the Warriors were in trouble. The Warriors didn’t allow this to happen. The Raptors started off the game hitting shots and playing tough basketball. At halftime they led 59-54, and it looked like the Raptors were going to win this game. The third quarter had a very different story though. After starting the game shooting awful and having trouble all around, Golden State began to heat up. The Warriors went on a 20-0 run against the Raptors, even though the Raptors were getting decent shots off. They hit a slump and allowed the Warriors to take complete control of this game. Klay Thompson went down at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a minor hamstring injury, and didn’t return to this game. During the fourth quarter, the Toronto crowd was loud and upbeat. The Raptors were cutting into the deficit and still had a chance in this game. After a getting called for a foul, Stephen Curry threw the ball up in the air and received a technical foul. The technical foul led to three made free throws by Kawhi Leonard and a three pointer made by Danny Green. Golden State’s commanding lead had dwindled to just two points, putting them up just 106-104 in the final seconds of the game. The Warriors drove down the court, and after a missed steal the ball was kicked out to Andre Iguodala, who had been shooting bad throughout the playoffs. Iguodala drilled the three with 5.9 seconds left, icing the game for Golden State. Klay Thompson led the effort with 25 points, Curry had 23 points, and Draymond Green had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. Although the Raptors lost, Kawhi had 34 points and 14 rebounds, and Fred Vanvleet had 17 points off of the bench.

With the series tied 1-1, game 3 held great importance for both teams. The Warriors were at a disadvantage now, with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both injured. The Raptors saw this and took advantage of the opportunity that they had been given. They dominated throughout the whole game, winning 123-109. Kawhi led the Raptors with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, but all of the other players, including Danny Green, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Marc Gasol, put up big numbers to get the win. The Warriors were now experiencing what the Cavaliers and Lebron James had faced every year in the finals. They were outmanned, so even if their leader had a great game they would still have no chance. Stephen Curry did lead his team and had the best game of his playoff career. He put up 47 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, leading his team in every category. Even though Curry had this great of a game, they were still beaten with ease.

This series is going to either end in one of two ways: the Warriors are going to get their injured players back and dominate the last games of the series, or the Raptors are going to keep beating down an injured Warriors team. Nobody can really guess which one will happen, but you can expect this series to be very entertaining as the Raptors and the Warriors battle for the championship.