NBA playoffs on May 25: Raptors make history by entering Finals
Updated 17:58, 26-May-2019
Li Xiang
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Toronto Raptors knocked out Milwaukee Bucks 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals after a victory of 100-94 at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. This was Toronto's fourth straight win after trailing 2-0 in the series.
Kawhi Leonard dropped 27 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists and buried a valuable three-pointer in the last quarter for Toronto, outplaying Giannis Antetokounmpo's 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for Milwaukee.
For the first time in the team's history, Toronto have made to the NBA Finals, and they will play against Golden State Warriors with home advantage from May 30.

Bucks won the start, but not the result

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots in the game they lost against Toronto Raptors 100-94 at the Scotiabank Arena, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots in the game they lost against Toronto Raptors 100-94 at the Scotiabank Arena, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

You could feel how desperate Milwaukee were for a win in Game 6 – if they had won, Game 7 would take place at their home court, the Fiserv Forum. The team again gained upper hand in the first quarter 31-18, leading in three-pointers (6-1), 3-pt rate (66.7 percent to 20 percent) and rebounds (16-6).
Though the Bucks' fire power again went down in the second quarter, competing for offensive rebounds and assaulting the rim helped them stay leading and caused quite some damage on Raptors inside – Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka together got three points but each was called three fouls, only in the first half.
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Bucks blocks a shot by Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Bucks blocks a shot by Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

In defense, coach Mike Budenholzer learned the lesson from the lost Game 5 and removed Nikola Mirotic from rotation. Ersan Ilyasova was given 21 minutes in which he did a good job by dropping 13 points and six rebounds. Meanwhile, Budenholzer would always have either Brook Lopez or Antetokounmpo on the court together with Ilyasova to protect the rim.
By the way, Milwaukee cut their rotation to eight players in this game and the eighth man Pat Connaughton only played nine minutes. Just like most teams in the playoffs, only the most reliable players could stay on the court.
Bucks in the third quarter launched another scoring run via the assault by Antetokounmpo, Bledsoe and Ilyasova against Raptors' paint to lead by at most 15 points (76-61). At that moment, they seemed to have stepped on foot back at Milwaukee.

Leonard deserves 2019 NBA playoffs MVP

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors dunks over Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors dunks over Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Having taken only seven shots in the first half, Leonard stood out when there were only less than three minutes left in Q3 – by the way, Raptors were also trailing 76-61 in foul trouble. Leonard then scored eight points, five rebounds and one assist, narrowing down the score difference to five points (76-71) by himself in two minutes.
Q4 had similar scenario: Milwaukee could not find who to trust in offense and could not stop Leonard in defense because of his size, strength, complete skills and most importantly, the classic perimeter shots that did not require spacing. Moreover, like in Game 5, Leonard learned how to use his own offensive threat to create opportunities for teammates. He making a three-pointer and assisting Gasol making another in the end of the game kept Toronto's lead before pocketing the final victory.
Fred VanVleet #23 of the Raptors shoots a three-pointer in the game against the Bucks, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Fred VanVleet #23 of the Raptors shoots a three-pointer in the game against the Bucks, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Of course other players of the Raptors contributed to the tram's four-consecutive-win comeback. Fred Vanvleet in the past three games sank in total 14 three-pointers at the rate of 82.4 percent (14/17); Gasol managed to stop Antetokounmpo from rattling the rim in most cases and was always able to make some key shots; Pascal Siakam did well enough joining his teammates slowing Antetokounmpo and caging him; Kyle Lowry made star-level performance in orchestrating.
However, Leonard is still Toronto's biggest hero in the series not just because of his 29.8 points per game. He spent four games realizing two things: first, Milwaukee could not stop him from scoring; second, he must learn how to orchestrate. In the end, he did it. Leonard completed upgrade from an elite scorer to a qualified isolation player who knows when, how and whom to pass the ball to when there's opportunity, just like Dirk Nowitzki's transformation from 2007 to 2011.

It takes a painful failure for Antetokounmpo to learn his lesson

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Bucks stands behind Kawhi Leonard of the Raptors after the game, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Bucks stands behind Kawhi Leonard of the Raptors after the game, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

This could have been the most successful season for Greek Freak. He was selected in both the All-Defensive First Team and the All-NBA First Team; he was one of the three finalists for the Defensive player of the Year (DPOY); he was the preferred candidate for this year's NBA MVP; he helped Milwaukee top the league with 60 wins and led the team stride forward in the playoffs, until he met Toronto.
Since then, Antetokounmpo lost his magic. He could not get close enough to the basket, there were fewer and fewer transition chances for him in the game. Raptors' defensive players did not even look at him when he was standing put side the 3-pt line but would jump on him together in one second together once he approached the free throw line.
Danny Green #14 and Marc Gasol #33 of the Raptors double team Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Bucks in the game, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Danny Green #14 and Marc Gasol #33 of the Raptors double team Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Bucks in the game, May 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

As a result, Greek Freak began to hesitate handling the ball, especially when the game entered the last quarter. Making three-pointers did not change the opponent's defense on him because they knew it's not sustainable. Finally, the following scene kept repeating itself in the last five minutes of the game: while Leonard was butchering Bucks defense, Antetokounmpo could only play hand-to-hand passing practice with his teammates as he failed to break Raptors' defense.
All such difficulties came from that one weakness of Antetokounmpo: lack of range. As he could not shoot well when he was out of the paint, Greek Freak's contribution to offense was weaken to much for the rest of the team to make up. However, the whole franchise of Milwaukee was built round him and thus the team could not afford to put him on the bench, not to mention for his role in defense.
Good news for Antetokounmpo was that he's still young and has enough time and health to improve his game. Starting from shooting, posting-up skills, floater and hook shot sounds like a good choice.