1-1

TORONTO – Klay Thompson had 25 points, while Stephen Curry had 23 to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 109-104 victory over the Raptors on Sunday, sending the best-of-seven NBA Finals to Oakland, Calif., tied up at 1-1.

Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Raptors, his 12th 30-point game of these playoffs, while Fred VanVleet had 17. Kyle Lowry had 13 points before picking up his sixth foul and leaving the game with 3:52 to play. Pascal Siakam chipped in with 12 points as Toronto continued its first NBA Finals appearance in its 24-year history.

The Raptors led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but were done in by an awful third quarter that saw the Warriors race out to an 18-0 run while fans were still filing back to their seats with their halftime beers. The Raptors turned the ball over five times and missed their first nine shots in the ugly stretch. VanVleet finally ended Golden State’s run with a three-pointer with 6:20 remaining in the quarter.

The Warriors led 88-80 with one quarter to play. Danny Green’s three-pointer slashed Golden State’s lead to just four points with nine minutes to play, but the Warriors’ offence, which had 34 assists on 38 made baskets on the night, was sizzling. Almost nothing was falling for Toronto.

An Andrew Bogut basket had Golden State up by 12 with 5:40 to play. The Raptors chipped away and three free throws from Leonard, one of them for a technical called on Curry for tossing the ball up in the air in anger, pulled Toronto to within five points with 1:08 to play.

Green drilled a three with 26 seconds to play, making it a two-point game and prompting a roar from the Scotiabank Arena crowd. But a wide open Andre Iguodala replied with a three with 5.9 seconds left to put the Warriors back up by two possessions. Green’s three at buzzer bounced off the rim.

(The Canadian Press)