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Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard was focused on leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, and that's just what he did.
The All-Star forward finished with 41 points, including the series-clinching buzzer-beater to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90.
However, Leonard needed 39 shots to score all his points, something that's very uncharacteristic of him. In fact, it was the most field goal attempts by a Raptors player in a postseason match. After the game, Leonard told reporters that he didn't want his season to end, which is why he never really cared about how many shots he took.
Raptors' Kawhi Leonard on 39 FGA in Game 7 win vs. Sixers: "I didn't want to leave any shots in my mind. This could have been my last game for the season. I would have to wait 5 months to put up another. I wasn't going to worry about makes or misses, try to will us to a win" pic.twitter.com/08blII0IzL
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 13, 2019
Kawhi has been the most consistent player on the Raptors' side, and that's one of the reasons why they have struggled to beat the Sixers despite most of their starters shooting poorly throughout the series as well.
With the win, the Raptors advance to the Eastern Conference Finals where they will meet the Milwaukee Bucks — the team that owns the best regular season record and the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
Leonard will definitely have his hands full, as he's set to go head-to-head with MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee has only lost once in these playoffs, which means they have had plenty of rest heading into their showdown with Toronto.
Still, the Raptors are led by one of the best players in the league. With Kawhi in the line-up, no one can really count Toronto out.
