Friday night’s matchup between the Toronto Raptors and the Portland Trail Blazers featured two teams each riding hot streaks after the All-Star break. The Raptors had won seven of nine and were just 2.5 games out of the No. 1 seed in the East, while the Blazers had won five straight.
The game certainly didn’t disappoint. The two teams went back and forth all night, and eventually it all came down to the final sequence, in which Damian Lillard got fouled on a three-point attempt by Kyle Lowry and was able to make all three free throws to tie the game 117-117 with 13 seconds remaining.
But on the ensuing possession, Kawhi Leonard came down and calmly drained a difficult turnaround jumper with 1.5 seconds left on the clock to seal the win for the Raptors.
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Kawhi finished with 38 points, five assists, and three steals on the night to lead Toronto. They were able to overcome a monster game from C.J. McCollum, who poured in 35 points and made seven three-pointers.
The Raptors also got 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists from Marc Gasol, and 19 points from Lowry, to go along with 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Toronto has now won eight of 10 and are just 1.5 games behind Milwaukee for the top seed in the East.
