WINNING crowns is not like picking apples. It is like taking down Mike Tyson, the most fearsome boxer in the ‘80s.
And so, you don’t just win crowns. You capture crowns. With all your might, heart and soul.
Toronto had just done that yesterday, escaping with a 114-110 victory over Golden State for a 4-2 series triumph.
They dug deep.
They scrambled.
They clawed back.
Toronto isn’t just the 2019 NBA (National Basketball Association) champion—finally—but more importantly, it halted the Warriors’ winning streak at two during Golden State’s five-year trip to the Finals.
And it also sort of pricked the Golden State pride, the defeat happening on the Warriors’ last game at the Oracle Arena, their home in Oakland since the start.
But sweet as it is since any first has always been historically the sweetest, Toronto had to pass through a wringer before it could bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Twice in the last 83 seconds the Warriors came to within a point of the Raptors—first at 108-109 on DeMarcus Cousins’ three-point spurt, and second at 110-111 on Steph Curry’s charities with still 18.5 seconds left in the game.
But after a couple Raptor turnovers, the Warriors virtually blew it when Curry, seemingly ice-cold all night, flubbed the potential game-winning three from right quarter court.
Horrifyingly, the league’s best triple shooter the last decade or so fell from his perch—unbelievably.
And why it must happen when the title was on the line—only the basketball gods can have the answer.
Curry only had a total of 19 points and that explains it? His lowest in the playoffs. He had a toothache?
Likewise, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, Curry’s deadliest teammates, were out on injuries.
There was no series to speak of, seriously, honestly.
Surreally, therefore, the Oracle Arena had become the Miracle Arena. For Toronto, whose three wins were crafted at Oracle.
As I said, four wins going to the Raptors would be a miracle, that Kawhi Leonard himself would be the Raptor miracle for 2019.
And badly depleted, Golden State was there for the picking. Unmistakably.