13 June 2019 live blog basketball
Game six of the NBA Finals is tonight, starting in about thirty minutes, and it will be the last NBA game hosted in Oakland, at the Warriors Oracle arena. The Raptors lead the series 3-2 after dropping the last game in Toronto during Durant’s return and then exit during the second quarter with a ruptured Achilles.
Both at the beginning of the playoffs, and the beginning of the Finals, I picked Toronto to win the series in six, so I could be extremely lucky depending on how the game goes. And I do believe Toronto will close it out tonight, spoiling Oracle’s farewell, and finally hoisting the trophy behind Kawhi’s phenomenal playoff run.
I’ve updated the site so new comments will flow to the top with an auto-refresh feature every two minutes. It’s almost time to get started.
20:13 - Lowry quick to attack for the first bucket of the game. Lots of pace to start given the first two posessessions. Green tried to hit Iggy on a dive but threw it away, which led to a quick Lowry three on the other end.
20:14 - Another! Lowry! Three! He is three for three, with two threes to start the game giving the Raptors a 8-0 lead.
20:16 - What is going on right now!? Lowry hit another three, hasn’t missed a shot, and has all eleven of Toronto’s points right now. If Lowry can match Curry’s output on the offensive end, its a wrap.
20:25 - If I’m Toronto, I want Ibaka out there right now instead of Gasol given the fast pace they are thriving in right now.
20:28 - Lowry is a man on a mission right now. He is going to the paint strong every single time.
20:29 - Gasol just tried to go yam from the free throw line as he trailed on the secondary break. Got himself two free throws from it.
20:36 - Raptors started out super hot, but the Warriors have stayed in it mostly due to the attention the Raptors have paid to Curry. And now Cousins’ and-1 makes it a one point game.
20:37 - And a Green three to put them up two! Cousins has looked fresh to start, finishing with contact and making the right pass.
20:37 - Another Lowry three!!!!!
20:45 - Lowry opens up the quarter pushing hard on a crowded break once again off a missed shot, eventually earning himself a trip to the stripe.
20:49 - Cousins and Looney on the court together has to be a new pairing for the Warriors.
20:50 - For some reason I always want to spell Kawhi as Kawaii like he is a Hawaiian island.
20:52 - It’s raining threes in Oakland tonight, especially for the Raptors. Vanvleet just hit one right after Siakam who is three for four so far, putting the Raptors up 43-38.
21:04 - Klay able to draw a foul on a three point attempt. I’m not so sure about this one…
21:07 - Kawhi almost have the ball away, floating a super high, super slow pass over to Danny Green, but somehow, Green was able to get it to Ibaka who finished with a floater just outside the lane. It’s only a two point game, but things just seem to be going Toronto’s way. As long as the Raptors can heed the typical Warrior third quarter run they will win this.
21:11 - That series was exactly what I’m talking about. Iggy misses a little floater, Looney fights like hell to win the ball back and tip it to Curry, and everything gets a bit hectic under the basket. Then Toronto ends up with the ball, Siakam leads the break, and is just able to shuffle it back to Kawhi who finished the and-1.
21:22 - Key stats of the first half to follow.
21:31 - And now Lowry has picked up an early foul in the second half to give him three. This could spell trouble for the Raptors.
21:33 - And now Curry picks up his third foul!
21:34 - It’s always tough when fouls play a big factor in a game as pivotal as this. Hopefully, it’s not a factor down the stretch.
21:38 - A Curry three shortly followed up by Lowry picking up his fourth foul is tough. Especially on that play. It looked like Lowry got ball first there.
21:43 - Siakam banks in a floater from the deep paint area. I think this will end up being Siakam’s quarter, he is going to need to be confident going to the rim and shooting the corner threes with Lowry and Kawhi both in foul trouble.
21:43 - DEEEEEEEP Three from Klay to knot it up at 76!
21:44 - Nurse using an effective timeout now that they’ve fallen behind by two.
21:50 - Klay with another three to put them up four. This time he was wiiiiiiide open. That’s unacceptable given how well he has been shooting tonight.
21:52 - Fourth foul on Kawhi with three minutes to go in the third. It definitely looks like fouls are going to play a factor here tonight. Green missed both free throws though.
21:55 - Looks like Klay came down awkwardly, twisting his knee, and it doesn’t look like he will be playing for the rest of the game tonight. A lot of pressure is going to be put on Curry if that’s the case.
21:55 - He’s back! Thank God. I hope he doesn’t make it worse.
22:01 - That was a serious three from Iggy as the shot clock ran down. Puts the Warriors up five as we get close to the end of the third quarter. Iggy is great at knowing when the moment has come to knock down important shots.
22:11 - Warriors have a very non-offensive lineup out there and are running everything through Cousins. Since no one else is really out there to be a threat, the Raptors have been double teaming him in the post with a decent amount of success.
22:13 - Vanvleet with his third three of the game to even the score at 91. And news from Doris reports Klay is done for the game. That’s a huge blow for the Warriors. I was half expecting him to come back with four minutes left, and ignore the whole arena with a three to lead them to victory.
22:18 - Vanvleet with a three with his defender right in his grill at the end of the shot clock!
22:19 - I feel like it’s about to be Kawhi time. He’s waiting for that click to hit 05:00.
22:23 - Lowry is back in Q1 mode attacking the basket, making a nice pass to Siakam in the post. And then Cutry comes right back knocking down a three to give the Warriors back the lead.
22:26 - There is no way Green got fouled on that play. Good job by the refs for not blowing the whistle there. Shut up Mark Jackson.
22:27 - Another Vanvleet three!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhnnnnn
22:30 - Big offensive board from Ibaka who is able to put the Raptors up five. On the other end, Cousins fights hard to keep an offensive board alive and is able to draw a foul on Ibaka to get to the line to narrow Toronto’s lead.
22:32 - Lucky break for Lowry as a last second heave benefits from a high bounce of the rim and lands through the net.
22:32 - And Green hits a three! It’s hard to look down for even a second during this game.
22:34 - Another missed free throw from Cousins after a questionable foul call on Lowry.
22:36 - What a beautiful drive and finish by Cousins to cut the lead to one. Haven’t seen much from Kawhi down the stretch.
22:38 - Toronto should have this locked down if they can make their free throws. But then again Curry can knock down three like no other. Raptors up 111-110 with 18.5 left.
22:40 - Green throws it away! Warriors have 9.6 seconds down one!
22:41 - Holy crap.
22:43 - Curry for a decent look and missed it. Kawhi chased down the loose ball, but Draymond Green gets it and calls a timeout with 0.9 seconds left. Only the Warriors don’t have any timeouts left.
22:47 - The Raptors are your 2018-2019 NBA Champions! What a game for Lowry ending up with 26 points and 10 assists. Kawhi didn’t shine tonight like he did throughout the rest of the playoffs, but Siakam, Vanvleet, and Ibaka had his back tonight.