An Oracle Arena lantern light nearly struck Toronto Raptors analyst Leo Rautins in Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
According to the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat, the lantern light fell during the first minute of the third quarter.
In the first minute of the third quarter of Toronto's win over Golden State, a round lantern light fell from the rafters of Oracle Arena, nearly striking Rautins, who was calling the game alongside play-by-play man Matt Devlin.
Rautins was so shaken up, he couldn't recall a day later at what point of the game the incident ever happened.
‘That's how weird the whole thing was. Just sitting there doing the game, I felt, and you're in the game, so I just felt something brush my arm,' Rautins said on Thursday.
Here's @LeoRautins on that crazy falling light incident at Oracle in Game 3: https://t.co/d28wDBagXj
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 7, 2019
Rautins told Wolstat he was busy doing the broadcast when he felt a thud. His stage manager had a stunned look on her face. That's when Rautins found the lantern light on the floor. Rautins felt the lantern light grazed the two of them. He was surprised it didn't shatter to pieces.
Rautins has been calling Raptors games since their inaugural season in 1995. He's never experienced anything like the bizarre incident on Wednesday, per the Toronto Sun.
The Toronto Raptors went on to beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game 3, 123-109. The win propelled Toronto to a 2-1 series lead.
As for Leo Rautins, he savored a Raptors win and evaded a falling lantern light on Wednesday. He couldn't have been a luckier man.
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