Lowry, Leonard aminado sa pagkatalo

TORONTO - Halos abot-kamay na ng Raptors ang kanilang kauna-unahang NBA crown.

Ngunit hindi nila nagawang mailigpit ang Golden State Warriors, ang two-time defen­ding champions, sa Game Five ng NBA Finals.

Sa pangunguna ni Ka­whi Leonard ay nakabangon ang Toronto sa fourth quarter at naiposte ang six-point lead sa hu­ling tatlong minuto ng la­­ro.

Nagkaroon pa sila ng tsansang maagaw ang pa­n­alo kundi lamang nag­­mintis si guard Kyle Lowry sa kanyang tangka sa three-point line sa pagtunog ng final buzzer.

Pinabulaanan ni Lowry na kaagad nilang inisip ang pagdiriwang sa pagkopo sa kampeonato.

“No, we stayed in the moment. They came back and made three straight threes. Played some good defense down the stretch,” ani Lowry ma­ta­pos ang kanilang 105-106 kabiguan.

“We just missed some shots and they did what they were supposed to do,” dagdag pa ng point guard.

Humabol ang Raptors mula sa 14-point deficit bago agawin ang 103-97 kalamangan sa pagbibida ni Leonard.

“At that time I felt that he probably wanted to get us some rest at that moment,” sabi ni Leo­nard, ku­­mamada ng team-high na 26 points kay head coach Nick Nurse. “You never know, I mean, if we would have won the game, we wouldn’t be talking about it.”