Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard hit one of the most insane buzzer-beaters you will ever see in Game 7 of his team's second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, launching a jumper from the corner and watching the ball bounce around the rim four times before eventually falling to send the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals.
As for Leonard's strategy behind the shot? It was basically to not do what he did the first time Toronto ran a similar play during its first-round series against the Orlando Magic:
“We ran a similar play in the [Orlando] Magic [first-round] series, and I ended up just catching and shooting the ball,” Leonard said, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN. “Embiid was guarding me. He's taller and longer than me, so I ended up finding a spot that I work on, and I just knew that I had to shoot it high.”
Leonard ended up scoring 41 points in the win, pouring in 15 during the fourth quarter. He added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Over the course of the series overall, the 27-year-old averaged 34.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals over 39.7 minutes per game while shooting 53.0 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line:
“It was great,” Leonard said. “That's something I never experienced before — Game 7, winning shot. It's a blessing to get to that point and make that shot and feel that moment, and it's something I can look back on in my career.”
The Raptors will now take on the Milwaukee Bucks for a berth in the NBA Finals.
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