This time, they made the shot. This time, in Game 7 against Philadelphia, the shot went down. Other side of the floor, 18 years later, the toughest shot you could ask for. This time, Kawhi Leonard took it, and it dropped.All night you were asking, who were the Toronto Raptors? Could you trust them, and could they trust each other? Put under enough pressure, not fully formed, would they splinter? Or were they, under pressure, a team?And in a tough game they pulled themselves back, and exchanged punches, and it came down to the very end. Kyle Lowry turned the tide, and Kawhi Leonard brought it home with the biggest shot in franchise history. In Game 7, the Raptors won 92-90 over the 76ers. Toronto will play Milwaukee in the conference final starting Wednesday night.It was a struggle. It was stressful. Down one late, the Raptors forced consecutive shot-clock violations; each was a defensive master class. After Leonard hit a long jumper over the giant Joel Embiid for a two-point lead, they nearly did it again, except Lowry stole a ball and found Pascal Siakam for a four-point lead. Defence is effort, poise, will. That, the Raptors had.But with 10.8 seconds left Kawhi missed a free throw, and the Sixers drove the length of the court to tie it, so Toronto had 4.2 seconds left and the ball to win, or go to overtime.And Kawhi took a running jumper in the corner with Embiid right there, and it arced and flew and hit the rim, and it bounced. It bounced, and everything stopped. Bounce.Read more:Lowry rises to the occasion in Raptorsī Game 7 triumphRelentless Raptors win Game 7 battle worthy of the occasionIt dropped. Kawhi finished 16-for-39 from the field for 41 points. He hadnīt taken more than 24 shots in a game all playoffs long. This is why heīs here.Midway through the third quarter, with Philadelphia taking control of the game, he had been 8-for-25 and missing. He wasnīt drawing bodies and finding teammates. He wasnīt trusting the pass. No, he was bulling his way to ...
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