After losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Toronto looked to be in a tough spot. If they were going to come back to make it a series against the high-flying Milwaukee Bucks, they’d have to string together some wins.
On Thursday night, the Raptors did just that. They won their third consecutive game in the series to take a 3-2 series heading into Game 6 in Toronto.
Now, all the Raptors have to do to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history is pull out one more win.
The Raptors pulled out a 105-99 Game 5 victory in Milwaukee, surprising many that had expected the Bucks to win with the series tied at 2 apiece. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Kawhi Leonard wasn’t going to make things easy for them.
The Raptors superstar scored 35 points to lead his team to victory. In addition to his healthy point total, the All-Star forward recorded 7 rebounds and distributed 9 assists to teammates.
Leonard was best in crunch time, as he scored 15 of his 35 points as the Raptors sealed the game in the 4th quarter.
Fred VanVleet was also crucial for Toronto, scoring 21 points off of the bench.
The Raptors will have a chance to wrap up the series in Game 6 at home on Saturday night.
