Those worries were warranted.
Opening on the road for the first time in their stretch of five straight Finals appearances, the Warriors took the floor at a raucous Scotiabank arena without Kevin Durant.
Raptors cruise behind big game from Siakam
They looked off from the opening quarter as the Toronto Raptors cruised to a 118-109 victory to fire the opening salvo of the NBA’s championship series behind a monster effort from breakout big man Pascal Siakam.An active Toronto defense slowed Golden State’s transition and forced the Warriors into 10 first half turnovers and 36.6 percent shooting from the field in opening a 59-49 lead.
A 10-point lead against these Warriors is far from comforting as so many teams in their path have learned the hard way. But the second-half run that Golden State fans have come to expect never arrived as Toronto struck back against the narrative that they were outmatched in this series, Durant or no Durant.
Raptors punch back after Warriors close gap
Golden State came close to start the third quarter, cutting a 10-point deficit to 90-87 behind its bench as Kawhi Leonard rested. But the Raptors struck back with two unanswered buckets, forcing the Warriors into a timeout. Toronto maintained control of the rest of the game.The Raptors secured the win with balance on offense and an unforgiving effort on the defensive end. And they won without a dominant performance from Kawhi Leonard, who struggled from the field and took a back seat to Siakam, who led the way with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Siakam’s big third quarter
Siakam took over in the third quarter, scoring 14 points in the stanza during a run that saw him hit 11 consecutive field goals. He finished 14-of-17 from the field while adding a steal and a pair of blocks on the defensive end.“It’s amazing man,” Siakam told ESPN of drawing energy from the Toronto crowd. “The best fans in the NBA. Just like this moment, we want to continue to do what we do, and hopefully we’ll get it done.”
“We’ve got to stay solid. It’s a great team we’re playing against,” Siakam continued when asked about moving forward against the Warriors. “It’s gonna be tough. We’ve just got to be ourselves. They’re gonna make adjustments. We’ve got to be ready for that.”
Warriors not named Steph, Klay struggled
But it was mostly a two-man show from Golden State, which struggled to find offense outside of its star guards.Draymond Green posted a 10-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple double, but couldn’t get going from the field on 2-of-9 shooting.
No other Warriors scored in double figures.
DeMarcus Cousins made his return to the lineup in a limited bench role, not entering the game until the second quarter. He looked healthy after suffering a quad injury in the opening round of the playoffs, but was largely ineffective, scoring 3 points in 8 minutes.
The Raptors limited Golden State to 43.6 shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers in an active effort that saw Toronto defenders consistently attacking the ball and putting themselves between the ball and the basket.
This is a team that could have used Durant.
Raptors put Warriors on notice
As far as Game 1s go, this was as close to a must-win as it gets for Toronto. There’s no sign of when or if Durant will return, but losing at home against a short-handed team of Golden State’s caliber would not have boded well for Toronto’s chances in the series.The Raptors answered the bell in convincing fashion. The heavily favored Warriors have been put on notice.
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