Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 2 of 2019 NBA Finals

The Toronto Raptors came close, but fell short in the final moments of Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, 104-109.

After a offensively powered first half affair in Game 2, the Toronto Raptors came up short of taking a commanding lead in the 2019 NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors. With the Warriors’ win, the series is tied 1-1 going to Oakland for Game 3 Wednesday night.

The game started off slow, with Kawhi Leonard for the Raptors and Klay Thompson for the Warriors getting it going for their respective teams. Thompson had his team’s first 10 points, shooting lights out for most of the game until his night ended early in the fourth quarter due to a hamstring injury. In his limited time on the floor, he contributed 25 points, five rebounds and five assists on 10-for-17 shooting. Out of the Warriors’ first 26 points, 24 came from either Stephen Curry, Thompson or Draymond Green, and 10 of those came from free throws.

After a back-and-forth first quarter with a tight whistle from the officials, the Raptors came out strong in the second quarter. They built their lead to as many as 12 points due to the fantastic play of Fred VanVleet, who finished the night with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals on 7-of-17 shooting. For the Warriors, Curry helped his team with a late quarter surge to close the gap to end the half. He posted 23 points and three steals on 6-of-17 shooting on the night.

To start the third quarter, the Warriors went on a 18-0 run and the Raptors couldn’t buy a bucket despite the few good looks they were getting. This was the situation for the majority of the second half. Leonard took control and was relentless in attacking the rim, going to the charity stripe 16 times and converting all of them. He finished the night with 34 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block on 8-of-20 shooting.

The Warriors led by 12 points with less than six minutes to go, but Kyle Lowry Lowry picked up his sixth foul and was done for the night. Lowry, who struggled with foul trouble throughout the game, finished with 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting in 29 minutes of action.

Momentum has swung over to the visiting team, but the Raptors’ defense would not waver, holding the best offensive team in the association to three points in the final five and half minutes of play.

Unfortunately for the home team, their offense would not match the same execution of their defense, and came up short in the final moments of the game. Here are the takeaways from the Game 2 loss in the NBA Finals.