The 24-year wait for Canada’s basketball community to finally get a taste of the N.B.A. finals officially ended Thursday night with something else the locals, so often heartbroken in the playoffs, scarcely could have imagined until it happened.
The Toronto Raptors pulled away for a 118-109 triumph in Game 1 of these finals against the mighty Golden State Warriors at a raucous Scotiabank Arena, despite Kawhi Leonard shooting just 5 of 14 from the field for 23 points.
To do so, with Leonard swarmed throughout by the Warriors’ smothering and constantly switching defense, Toronto turned to the third-year pro Pascal Siakam. Described just days ago by Warriors Coach Steve Kerr as “a young” Draymond Green, in a nod to his versatility at both ends, Siakam, in his finals debut, dramatically won his matchup with the seasoned Green.
Green was good, posting 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double. But Siakam was spectacular, draining 11 consecutive shots in one stretch en route to 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Raptors, who also hounded Golden State into 42.9 percent shooting from the field.
In an on-court interview with ABC’s Doris Burke, Siakam dedicated the performance to his father and praised the fans in Toronto who he called the best in the N.B.A.
“Tonight, Game 1, we did what we were supposed to do,” he said.
Siakam’s outburst more than offset Stephen Curry’s 34 points, and the Warriors, for the first time since Kevin Durant’s injury, seemed to truly miss the two-way star who will likely not be back until at least Game 3.
Golden State got 21 points from Klay Thompson, but he, Curry and Green were the only Warriors to score in double figures.
That was not nearly enough to counter Toronto’s depth.
With Leonard struggling to get into an offensive rhythm, the Raptors turned not only to Siakam, but also to Marc Gasol, who scored 20 points.
Fans, eager to see a Canadian team in the N.B.A. finals for the first time, began lining up for entry to the viewing area adjacent to the area, known as Jurassic Park, before 5 a.m. for a 9 p.m. tipoff. Inside the arena, Toronto role players such as Fred VanVleet (15 points off the bench) and Danny Green (three 3-pointers after Green made just four in the Eastern Conference finals) appeared to be lifted by the roars that followed every basket they mustered.