OAKLAND, CALIF.—Kawhi Leonard is not one given to open displays or discussions of sentimentality, and he will not play along with your narrative very often, no matter how good it is.But somewhere deep down, somewhere in his soul, he had to have felt just a bit of a twinge of glee Wednesday night, and he must have appreciated how good the story truly was.He’d take a jump shot and there would be no feet of Zaza Pachulia sliding under his as he landed. He’d dominate at stretches and still be on the floor when the game was decided. He was in his element and not in pain.Leonard played his first game at Oracle Arena since suffering a debilitating injury in a playoff game here with the San Antonio Spurs in early May 2017, a high ankle sprain that kick-started his demise and ultimate departure from the Spurs.It was like he was never gone from venerable old gym that will close with the end of this NBA Finals.If there is such a thing as a quietly dominant game, Leonard had it Wednesday night, scoring 21 of his 30 points in the second half as Toronto beat the Golden State Warriors 123-109 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.Overcoming a marvellous 47-point game from Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Leonard helped spearhead a great offensive night from the Raptors, who took it to the Warriors from the opening tip in an unrelenting performance.Leonard did not play again in the 2017 playoffs after Pachulia slid his foot under Leonard’s on a jump shot, ending a 26-point, 24-minute game and his season. After missing three regular-season games here over the last two seasons, he was back on familiar turf and in a familiar role.In the first quarter when the Raptors got off to their best start of the series, he had seven points and got to the free-throw line five times, grabbing three offensive rebounds among his six boards and dishing out one wonderful assist with a great pocket pass to Marc Gasol for an easy bucket.In the third quarter, Leona ...
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