NBA playoffs on May 19: Game 3 belongs to Kawhi Leonard

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The Toronto Raptors claimed a valuable victory at home by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112 after two overtimes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, narrowing down the series to 2-1.

Kawhi Leonard played another heroic game with 36 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. More importantly, he played 52 minutes through a leg injury and still managed to drop eight points and two steals in the second OT.

Raptors rescue themselves from desperate situation

Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors during the game they won against the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112 at the Scotiabank Arena, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Having trailed 2-0 after the first two games, Toronto were already in disadvantage. Of the previous 134 series, during which the "home-advantage-possessing" teams led 2-0, 123 ended victorious, which means that the trailing teams only had an 8.21 percent chance of winning the series. It would get worse if Toronto lose Game 3 because in all previous series no trailing team managed to make a come back with one team leading 3-0.

From the very beginning the Raptors waged their best struggle. On offense, they led in three-pointers (17-14), assists (28-22) and turnover points (21-16), while defending, Toronto limited the scoring of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who dropped 27.4 points on average in the playoffs to 12 points and only left him seven free throws. Moreover, none of the Bucks' starting line-up reached 20 points – Brook Lopez's 16 points was already the highest.

Kyle Lowry #7, Norman Powell #24, Marc Gasol #33 and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Raptors during a game against the Bucks, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Marc Gasol and Pasacal Siakam, the two players who had failed to meet the fans' and team's expectations in the series, finally achieved what Toronto needed from them. Gasol buried four three-pointers in the game to get 16 points while grabbing 12 rebounds and delivering seven assists. Siakam claimed the team's second-most 25 points and made two shots from the 3-pt line. These two plus the 30 points and six three-pointers from Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell gave Toronto enough chips to arm wrestle with Milwaukee on the offensive.

In defense, the Raptors bet on protecting the paint. Every time Antetokounmpo approached the free throw line, he would be double or even triple-teamed. When he switched to posting up, the center would come to double team him. Besides, the Raptors often changed different players to defend him, making Antetokounmpo hesitate before he decided how to attack.

Bucks' deep rotation is still intimidating

Giannis Antetokounmpo (C) of the Bucks tries to shoot under the defense of four players of the Raptors during a game, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Milwaukee were not in their best themselves during Sunday's game. They were outplayed in three-pointers, both in number (17-14) and in rate (37.78-31.82 percent). They were blocked 10 times and the team's free throw rate was only 66.67 percent.

However, the Bucks only lost after two OTs because they did two things right: transition offense and bench contributions. The Bucks had more rebounds (63-55) and more steals (14-11) than the Raptors, which explained why they scored more points (29-18) via fast break.

Malcolm Brogdon (L) and George Hill (R) of the Bucks during a game against the Raptors, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Moreover, Milwaukee's second unit was great as usual. George Hill and Malcolm Brogdon from the bench claimed the team's highest 24 and 20 points respectively. These two plus Pat Connaughton and Ersan Ilyasova scored 54 points, doubling that of Toronto's backup squad.

More importantly, even Antetokounmpo did not score much, he helped the Bucks in other ways. Before he was fouled out in the second OT, the Greek Freak grabbed 23 rebounds, delivered seven assists and had four blocks. He also committed eight turnovers and that's a problem for him to work on in addition to how to beat Raptors defense before Game 4.

And then Leonard came to save the day

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors dunks in a game against the Bucks, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Game 3 did not give Leonard the best start because he hurt his left leg only three minutes into the first quarter. As the game went on, his speed, jumping and quickness were all affected and as a result, Leonard only had two points in Q3 and no points in the first OT. However, even with that injury, he still played 52 minutes in the game.

Before the second OT, Leonard had already scored 28 points, which was good considering that Milwaukee's defense was mainly focused on him. However, it was still not good enough to help the team win so Leonard continued his performance. He first stole the ball from Eric Bledsoe and finished a quick dunk jumping with his right leg to help Toronto lead 108-105. 90 seconds later, Leonard again knocked down the ball from Khris Middleton to finish another dunk and this time he jumped on the left leg, helping his team lead 112-109.

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Raptors shoots in a game against the Bucks, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

As the game entered the last 40 seconds, Leonard broke through the defense of Brogdon and Middleton with his foot work and put the ball into the basket to expand Raptors lead to four points (114-110). It was also him who dropped the last two game-winning free throws in the last 10 seconds of the game.

Sine the beginning of this season, there were, from time to time, understandable comparisons between Leonard and Kobe Bryant. Both enjoy classic perimeter shots and posting up in offense. More importantly, both could carry the most possessions of the team and are willing to carry the team when they are expected to do so. After Sunday's game, Leonard achieved his first significant win despite an injury, just like Bryant did in Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals.