The Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in memorable fashion on Thursday night after weathering an early storm in the first quarter. The Raptors and Kawhi Leonard slowly whittled down Milwaukee’s lead in the third quarter before blowing the doors open in the fourth quarter on the back of 10-0 and 12-6 runs.
The Raps just seemed to have all the answers on Thursday night, even with starting shooting guard Danny Green continuing to struggle mightily in the series.
Green played only 15 minutes, went scoreless and produced a shockingly bad -17 rating in the game. However, after having a nightmarish series of his own against the Bucks, guard Fred VanVleet shook himself out of his funk and scored 21 points in 37 minutes, making 7 of 9 shots from downtown with a +28.
This was a monumental win for the Raptors. It represents the biggest win in franchise history, setting up a bigger moment if they win the series in Game 6. Despite the historic nature of this win, the Raptors’ best player – the inscrutable, unflappable Kawhi Leonard – was his usual nonchalant self in his postgame interview, despite pouring in 35 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds in the win:
Kawhi postgame’s remain undefeated
🎤: @KristenLedlow pic.twitter.com/tsadLfGKb3
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 24, 2019
The thing to note about Leonard’s postgame appearances is that he simply states the facts without garnishing them in platitudes or axioms for the benefit of his interviewer. When viewed through that lens, his deadpan statements are fairly refreshing, considering the cavalcade of clichés that usually emerge from players’ mouths after big games.
Either way, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals is sure to be a scintillating affair – even if Kawhi’s postgame comments are not.
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