He scored 35 points and the Raptors took a commanding 3-2 lead in the series. We have that and more in Friday’s NBA newsletter.
Folks, this is not a drill. The Toronto Raptors are one win away from the NBA Finals after a hard-fought, pretty wild finish in Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Raptors relied on suffocating defense, some offensive rebounds and the Bucks’ lack of execution to finish the job with a 105-99 win in Wisconsin. As Magic Johnson told us, Kawhi Leonard was indeed a bad man. Despite clearly being hobbled by injury, he had 35 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. This was an MVP level performance.
What about Giannis Antetokounmpo? He was certainly Milwaukee’s best performer, but got banged up and didn’t execute down the stretch. As Toronto forced the Bucks to play halfcourt offense in the last five minutes by closing off all run-outs, Milwaukee just couldn’t get any good action going. Khris Middleton had a rough night and the Bucks bench didn’t show up.
Fred VanVleet showed up and earned himself a podium game with 21 off the bench, including an enormous three down the stretch. He’s had back-to-back lights out performance and is probably right behind Kawhi on the list of who deserves credit for turning this series around.
Meanwhile, Drake is out here holding media availability and trolling the daughter of the Bucks’ franchisee. Forget about Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and a resuscitated RAPTORS BENCH. Are we ready for Drake in the NBA Finals?!
Scores
Raptors 105, Bucks 99
Toronto leads series 3-2
Schedule
Bucks at Raptors Game 6 is scheduled for Saturday night.
The WNBA regular season tip-off is Friday night! Dallas Wings at Atlanta Dream at 7:30 ET on WNBA League Pass and Indiana Fever at New York Liberty at 8 ET on NBA TV.
Links
Fred VanVleet’s son was born early this week, and FVV has been flying and driving all over the place to be there for his family and prep for the Eastern Conference finals. He’s actually shooting 80 percent from three since the birth despite being run ragged. His formula for success is actually my formula for writing newsletter headlines.
Some more absolutely hilariously earnest quotes from Kawhi in the post-game on Thursday night. He learned something from Gregg Popovich.
As a proponent of killing the NBA draft, I wrote about what Zion Williamson would do if we had well-regulated rookie free agency instead.
All-NBA teams were announced on Thursday. No huge surprises, except that Kemba Walker made the third team over Bradley Beal and Klay Thompson in a pretty close vote. Kemba is now eligible for a super-max deal. Klay is not. Here are the winners and losers from the All-NBA announcement.
Natalie Weiner with a crucial piece on the largely male practice squads that constantly lose to WNBA and high-end women’s college teams.
Brian Windhorst on how the super-max contract is working and what’s next.
Kyle Lowry has been the East’s best point guard in the playoffs.
The trade that could push the Blazers forward.
Love the Raptors’ DIY fashion spirit. But Nick Nurse having a personal brand is a step too far ...
How hiring Juwan Howard will impact Mchigan basketball. This is an interesting trend: retired NBA stars who cut their teeth as NBA assistants but end up going to the college level to take their first head coach job (not for lack of trying at the NBA level). Patrick Ewing, Jerry Stackhouse and now Juwan have all done it.
Courtney Williams from the Connecticut Sun talks mad trash and backs it up. I would rather bathe in a tub full of snakes than trash talk Diana Taurasi. My feelings are too fragile.
Neil Paine argues that the WNBA is uniquely suited to survive its many star absences.
Is Dan Gilbert correct that the Cavaliers “killed it” with the Kyrie Irving trade?
Sopan Deb on how important and untouchable Inside the NBA has become, and how it’s made Kenny Smith the star he never was on the court.
Be excellent to each other.