With under a minute remaining in the third quarter, Kawhi Leonard repeatedly dribbled the ball between his legs, dancing with Aaron Gordon past the three-point arc. Gordon was a willing partner, shuffling his feet, raising his left arm inside of Leonard’s shooting pocket. Back and forth, Leonard dribbled with the slow rhythm of a hypnotist. The shot-clock wound down, and Toronto’s offensive possession had ostensibly been a poor one. Toronto hadn’t created an advantage, hadn’t forced a switch. Gordon – who had started the possession on Leonard – remained his defender, despite some tentative drives and kickouts from Norman Powell and others. Back and forth, Leonard dribbled.
Leonard already had 31 points. He had only missed four shots. It wasn’t only Leonard that smelled blood in the water; the crowd was frantic, having begun the night exploding into a frenzy for a made Kyle Lowry free throw. With momentum behind him, Leonard isolating on the wing was cause for parades through the streets. The crowd’s volume grew. Back and forth, Leonard’s soothing pace the opposite of the rising crowd.
With five seconds on the clock, Leonard made his move. One hard dribble to his left and a quick stepback freed him from Gordon, and Leonard rose for the wing triple. The entire arena knew the result in advance.
Steve Clifford was practically speechless after the game in regards to Leonard’s inevitably: “Leonard was, I mean, great, what are you gonna do? He was great.”
We all knew the Toronto Raptors rostered the best player in this Orlando Magic series. Toronto isn’t used to cheering for the best player in a series, but it doesn’t take much getting used to. The secret, apparently, to proper comfort, is having the second and third best players on your team too.
Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol were excellent in their own ways. Lowry transformed into the offensive dynamo that, frankly, we haven’t seen from him often this season. His 10 attempts at the rim were the most he’s attempted there since 2015, per pbpstats. He was explosive and aggressive, and as a rarity for Lowry, it wasn’t his shooting that mattered; it was his back-cutting, driving, and finishing. Lowry more embodied aggression than intelligence, more assailant than assistant. For all his ethereal smarts, sometimes Lowry is at his best when he’s rushing at you like a tidal wave. He finished with 22 points on 15 used possessions, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. It was peak Lowry. When asked about the difference between this game and last, he quipped, “made some shots,” then chuckled.
Gasol was the defensive anchor that Toronto purchased at the trade deadline. Even if his feet have lost some of their speed, his hands remain as hawkish as ever. Gasol attacked the point of entry during Orlando’s pick-and-rolls, bringing the fight to Magic guards before they could turn the corner. He stripped DJ Augustin and then Jonathan Isaac on the first two possessions of the game. He finished with four steals, but he didn’t sacrifice positioning on his primary mark, Nikola Vucevic.
Gasol bodied Vucevic well, forced him out of his spots before the catch, and contested every shot. Vucevic shot 3-for-7, bringing his field-goal percentage in the series to a meager 28.6 percent. Orlando’s lone all-star Vucevic has not been the offensive solution to which Orlando can turn, and that has been Gasol’s greatest contribution. Shooting 3-for-4 from deep was a nice bonus.
Regardless, it all circled back to Leonard. Toronto’s offence remained a little bit stagnant in the early going. Despite leading by 12, Toronto only scored 51 points at half. Orlando was within punching distance. Leonard closed the door in the third quarter.
If Gasol turned Vucevic into an offensive weakness for Orlando, Leonard exposed Vucevic as a defensive sieve. He continually attacked Orlando’s weakest defensive big. Leonard time and again ran pick-and-rolls with Gasol to involve Vucevic in Toronto’s actions. If Vucevic switched late, Leonard would dribble the ball out onto the perimeter and launch a jumper in his eye. If Vucevic dropped back, Leonard would use the space as a runway to attack him and finish in his body. If Vucevic played high on the screen, Leonard split the coverage and finished uncontested at the rim.
By the time Leonard and company had delivered their killing blows in the third, Toronto led 85-66. Leonard isolated against Gordon on the wing to end the quarter, but he was really only picking at a picked-over corpse. That, too, is something Leonard brings to the team; he’s a predator, happy to drive fallen opponents deeper into the dirt.
Leonard finished with 37 points on 23 used possessions. He left the game midway through the fourth to a standing ovation. Toronto finally has their playoff hero, their rock upon which they can rely in difficult moments. After a season of practice, Leonard has begun the real games. We’re finally watching the unshackled star for whom Toronto traded. Gordon and company may be Toronto’s first victims, but Leonard’s game promises that they won’t be the only ones.
