May 19, 2023 • 22 mins
Is this the dagger?? We've arrived at the fireworks factory of the 2019 Toronto Raptors run. Kawhi Leonard puts on a performance for the ages in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers, culminating in the greatest single moment in Raptors history and one of the most iconic shots ever seen in the NBA Playoffs. Relive all the nerves, the battles, and the back-and-forth action of an instant classic in the latest episode of Sportsfeld Storytime.
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Come join the Patreon family for bonus episodes, mailbags, discord access and even more goodness: https://www.patreon.com/sportsfeld
Follow @Sportsfeld on Twitter! While you're there say hello to @theZubes and @JGoldsbie or reach out to the show and say hey: podcast@sportsfeld.ca
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
S coach of Bank Arena in downtownToronto transformed into a theater today for potentially
one of the most dramatic days inRaptors history. It's Game seven the Sixers
and the Raptors indeed with Simmons,Harris, Reddick and Jimmy Butler. Scott
(00:22):
Foster walks to center court in bedand get solved and it's controlled by Philadelphia
Lowery pushing it sends it to Greenin the corner Forcacham getting those second and
third shot opportunities. It's been soldfor continuing with us the former Raptor the
(00:47):
boy out because of the two files. Here's Harris's driving that gets it to
Monroe. The former Raptor stole itaway. Here's cob Raptors by three.
He passed Kawa to get him witha slam to Joel and Bead on the
(01:08):
scene the Bucker, they give itto him. The crash God Sarge a
bucking knocks it down from Sterling.It's first made three from the series.
Scott clockdown in the paint. No, indeed, they on a seven point
lead. Reddick indeed has to pickit up that the suelations and his corner
(01:32):
three and it's good. He's holdingUntie. He's in the want of pay
right, he's Reddick launching a threeand it's good. Kawai one who passed
to Simmons acts by six Pascal.They play off of him and he sticks
to day in bed looking for Simmonson the pain. Pascal slots it away,
(01:57):
gathered by Simmons in the response,Simmons times an open Harris and the
gray is good. Lowry, here'ssirds hit one earlier. It's another one
there. The pocket blows out buyingbad Lowry drifting crap. God would out
be with a power to get Kilemount driving and pass the found under the
(02:23):
upfake driving waits for him Bead tofly by patients. Pile mount the salt
in the paint, puts up ashot and it goes a great look for
green and what a taste by Kawhile. Leonard Manigan pottied up on Simmons to
try to throw down an MP andhop haack the back breeze gready and beat
(02:47):
lolwy luck to the lake and Beadgathers it in a lunge of the foe
on Toronto forty five bucks, who'severs train a minute of the treo Jill
Dan's leaders in Leonard at the fileit points on thirty eight shots. Loves
(03:10):
the moment if he gets the opportunityto take a short bought by Harris two
point game you comes colored trugging,layups cord. He ties the game lie
up time, looks at the cluss, turns the corner and for the wind
(03:57):
words five. It is Sportsfeld storytime. We're going back, back, back,
all the way back. We arehit the We've hit the pinnacle,
I mean not the pinnacle, We'vehit the historic moment. In the twenty
nineteen Raptors playoff run May twelve,twenty nineteen, a sold out Scotia Bank
Arena for Game seven between the Philadelphiaseventy six Ers and the Toronto Raptors.
(04:19):
After a back and forth series thatwe chronicled in the previous episode, it
was all come down to this.The rotations are tightened up. It is
eight man rotation for the Sixers,only seven guys in the court for the
Raptors. Really an incredible back andforth game. And we'll get into details
of the game in just one minute. But Jake, first and foremost,
where did you watch Game seven?Of the Eastern This is the Eastern Semis.
(04:44):
I watched this alone in my apartment. I also watched this alone in
an apartment. If there is oneregret I have from the Raptors playoff run
is not watching this game with people, because I don't like watching big games
alone. I'd get a real kickout of crowds in sports and like big
moments and as amazing as this gameis, and we'll get into how amazing
(05:09):
this game is or was. Watchingthis alone was still fun because the game
was so good, but I reallywish I was in a crowd of people
for this one crazy. I wasalso, as I mentioned, I was
also at home watching this alone.My wife was covering this game. She
was right the Scotia Bank Arena forthis which I cannot even physically looking back
(05:30):
at it. I can't even imaginebeing in the room for this. Oh
my god, no, I wouldhave died several I mean I felt like
I was dying watching you at home, let alone in the building. I
just watched a recap video to onceagain and I was like, oh my
god, I can't do this likethis. I feel like with this game,
obviously, all of the attention,all of the coverage, all the
(05:51):
everything is the shot, but like, this is an unbelievable game of basketball.
Yeah, pretty low scoring. Itends ninety two ninety which you know,
given the late nineteens early twenties,scoring is pretty low. But but
(06:12):
oh man it is. It's qualitybasketball. And going back and rewatching this
game the first and the drugs outto me and this is obvious is man,
Kawhi Leonard was really really good inthis game. He had and I
as much as we like to makefun of the seventy sixers, which we
will continue to do after this onestatement, I feel like Kawai was so
(06:39):
good in this game and he hadthree or there's three or four plays in
the fourth quarter that he makes oris involved in that I remember watching the
game being like, okay, wegot it now, and the Sixers just
kept coming back. This is oneof those games where, like you're looking
back at the stats, like manyhe would sixteen of thirty nine. But
(07:01):
I also remember I remember this wasone of those ones where it's like,
if that's what it's gonna take,that's what it's gonna take, and I'm
totally okay with it. Like thefact that Kauai had to shoot basically forty
times to get them through this game. Was like, that's that's what they
were missing in the previous series wetalked about was the guy who was like,
Okay, I'm not having my bestshooting game, but I'm going to
(07:23):
keep shooting because I need to bethe guy that does it for us.
Not only like not to be toolike sportswriter cliche, but like this game
was a battle. Yeah, likeit is, and like because the shot
has overtaken everything about this game.I remember thinking, as these moments in
(07:47):
this game where was happening like liveand now in retrospect watching the recaps,
there are four or five plays thatthe Raptors make. Kyle is a couple,
surges a couple, Pascal as acouple, Kawhi obviously has a bunch
that I was like, oh,well that's going down and like one of
the great plays in Raptors history,and they've all been forgotten because of the
(08:11):
shot. Yeah. Another thing that'swithout to me were watching it is how
many plays end with like Raptors playerscrashing into the back of the like behind
behind the net because they're just likethey're they're all playing so hard. It's
really incredible, like they're just absolutelygrinding for every bucket um Man Kauhi.
I mean in the first half alone, because he turns it on in the
(08:33):
second half. And in the firsthalf he's six of sixteen, five rebounds,
two steels, fifteen points, abunch of break the steels, all
breakaway dunks. He is so goodin this game. He finished with forty
one, and really the cool partabout it is, you know the Sixers
also play pretty well, like andhe ends with twenty one and eleven.
(08:54):
Jimmy Butler has some great moments inthis game. He finishes with sixteen,
but man, and they just goback and forth there. There's some great
jj Reddick moments. He finished withseventeen, and like every one of them
felt like massive points. It's sucha it's such a fun game. Lay,
I know that that maybe that's we'rebeing very broad in our terms,
but like going back to me watchingit, it's like, man, what
(09:15):
a what a what a instant classic. But there, as you said,
there are so many moments where you'relike, like the surge offensive rebound that
gets missed and then and then Markrabs it and hits Kawhi at the top
of the key with an open three, and it's like, man, there's
so many unbelievable moments on both handsopen no, doesn't get a cassault does
(09:39):
it up? Yes, Yeah,that was That's one of the plays that
I thought was like, I believeI don't remember the score, but I
know what one point the Raptors wereeither down three or tied, and Surge
just hit a corner three. Andas we talked about in the last episode,
Searge had been like basically unplayable upto this point. Four on the
(10:03):
clock of Bocca rises up, andthen he hit He just kind of came
alive in this game. And Iremember I remember standing in my living room
alone the entire time, standing thisentire game, and Surge hit that three,
(10:26):
and it was like, oh,this is gonna be like the idea
that this could have potentially been theSurge of Bacca game, and like it
kind of was for a minute.Was crazy. The other the lowry uh
stealing the rebound play and giving itto Surge is the one that I thought
was gonna really live forever in Raptorshistory. And then the like to go
(10:48):
up four with like a minute leftthe Pascal, the lowry steal to the
Pascal flying layup so much to yourpoint, ended with him crashing into the
base of the net. Really likeI was like, okay, that's like
Pascal the seal it to go upfor because at that point I thought we
had it and it was over.It's really it's a crazy game, a
(11:09):
crazy, crazy game. Yeah.That that was the one for me that
in the moment, I was like, it's such a classic Kyle play where
they're like they get an unbelievable trapwith like five seconds in the shot clock.
(11:31):
They trap Harris uh and then hebreaks up the the desperation outlet pass
and then as you said, theygo up four and it's like, oh
my god, like it's a it'ssuch a Kyle play. It's such a
like it's such exactly what this teamwas. It was so perfect that I
was like, oh my goodness,that that's gonna be the stamp on it.
Um unbelievable, just like unbelievable.But man, it's crazy that the
(11:56):
last the last two minutes, thereare so many little plays. Basically on
every possession, you're like something massivehappens. It's crazy to see, like
how amplified. Those last two minutesare because when you're watching it live,
obviously those things feel that way,but then even watching it back, you're
like, oh man, it is. It is like this crazy, Like
Kawhi hits that foot on the lineshot from the elbow to put them up
(12:18):
too Lowry makes the steel feeds Pascalto go up for and then like man,
oh man, there's a bunch ofmiss possessions and rebounds, but there's
so much to them. It's crazy. It's crazy. You know, it's
(12:43):
a crazy game where I think,I mean, I do this. I
don't know if you do this,but I feel like Toronto sports fans sort
of have this in them where we'rebig on looking ahead while big games are
going on. Like I know,I'm thinking back to this might be a
bad example, but it happens.Leafs Bruins in twenty thirteen, the four
one game or any leaf any Leafsgame seven, it's always like, Okay,
(13:07):
well, if they win this,then who's next. And we did
that with the Jay's a lot.I think in twenty fifteen and twenty sixteen,
I'm like, Okay, if theycan win this, who's next.
This game was so intense and ridiculous. The fact that they now had to
go up against the Bucks would youusually would sort of temper things a little
bit, especially in Raptors fandom,where like everything is dire um didn't even
(13:33):
cross my mind, like this gamewas. It was impossible to focus on
anything but this game. Mhm um. Some some great stats sort of in
the in the in the second halfof this game. In the second half,
Kauhi has twenty six um the Searchhas nine, Mark has seven,
Kyle has four, and Pascal hasjust the layup he only has two.
(13:56):
And then in the fourth quarter especially, I think this is my favorite part.
In the fourth quarter, Kauai hasfifteen points and the Raptors as a
team score twenty five. Nobody elsemakes more than one shot in the entire
fourth quarter other than Kauhi, whogoes six of nine, including a three.
It felt that way too. Itwas like a real, a real
(14:18):
living and dying as every shot isin the air kind of game, and
luckily Kawi was taking most of them. It's like I was gonna I've lost
my train of thought, but itwas it was just the Raptors have seen
a lot of crazy games and sawa lot of crazy games in twenty nineteen,
but the back and forth nature ofthis one, even just like the
(14:41):
lead up to the shot itself,is absolutely bananas. And just like it
was like, I don't I don'tknow how any of us, as Raptor
fans like survived this one. Yeah, speaking up that lead up, twelve
seconds left at eighty nine eighty six, Ibaka fouls and bead. He goes
(15:05):
two of two. They would thenon the ensuing endown of course intentionally foul.
They foul Kawai. He makes thefirst and misses the second free throw.
With ten seconds left, Jimmy Butlertakes at the length you talk about
absolutely crushing the ease. The easewith which Jimmy Butler gets this ball and
goes end to end and makes alayup was like you, it took the
(15:31):
air out of the room I wasin. That's for damn sure. I
remember going into this series because JimmyButler had such a history of just absolutely
owning us when he's with the balls, it was obviously we were all terrified
Jimmy Butler. Also Jimmy Butler rules, so like it was easy to be
terrified Jimmy Butler. He wasn't likekept he like, as you said,
(15:54):
he had a good game this game. But as soon as you saw him,
as soon as that freethrow was missedand Butler picked up the ball and
you saw him sort of get momentum, it was just like you knew he
was hitting. I was just terrifiedhe was going to get fouled. Right,
he almost does, he almost does, and I and like it's not
he's and like he just barely getsthat shot off as well. But like
(16:17):
the man, it's as much asiconic and wonderful and amazing and impossible as
the shot is that Jimmy Butler playis equally ridiculous. Yeah, it's amazing.
I remember in real time because yousort of expect the Sixers just to
be like, all right, letlet's get it, let's get a great
(16:38):
shot here, let's slow it downand let's take it three or make sure
we get this shot, and likeJimmy just immediately goes like it's it's four
seconds, he's end to end,and boom, the game is tied.
You don't even have time to likeget nervous about it, because it's just
like before you even realize Kawhi hasmissed. Jimmy is cross mid court going
the other way. It's like,holy cow, I mean, but then,
(17:02):
what can you even say? Goon, I'm time. She looks
at the clock, turns the cornerfrom the way in the air, suspended
(17:26):
in air. You gotta be awareof the inbounder here if you're feeling gets
off the letter defended by Simmons,Is this the taker? Damn sus Toronto's
(17:48):
one fifteen fourth quarter points by Khiletters and the game window forty one point?
(18:15):
I mean twilightard from the right corner, a shot that we will see.
We will probably see it conservatively,You'll probably see it another two thousand
times in the rest of your life. I would say, Yeah, it's
one of those. We talked abouta little about this in one of the
two previous episodes of the story Time, about how the whole run feels very
(18:37):
surreal and kind of like it didn'thappen in a weird way. This feels
ten times that this to me wasmore unbelievable than the fact they won it
all. Wasn't like better, obviously, but it was like, this is
impossible. This shot never happens forthe Raptors, and was just like,
(19:00):
it's funny rewatching this game with thehindsight that they won the title and how
easily they could have lost this gameand it just doesn't happen, and then
to win it on this shot stillto this day feels impossible, unbelievable.
(19:21):
It never gets old to see.It's one of those ones. It's like
the bat flip was like I couldwatch it a million times and never get
sick of it. It never itnever makes any sense. It's never a
logical play. It's just it's justa miracle and the fans and Kauai's face
and the reaction and the eruption.It's just you'll never see anything like it
again in your whole life. Justthe combination of factors that go into that,
(19:45):
you'll you'll never see anything like thatagain. Yeah. I think we
talked, we've said before about howthe twenty fifteen Blue Jays drink was like
that run was so special to usbecause could only have happened at that time
that one time with that team,and any other run will be wonderful in
(20:07):
its own way, but won't bethe same. I feel like this shot
was twenty five years of as muchas as much as it's an easy error
to say, the Raptors winning thetitle was sort of the exorcism of all
those twenty five years of playoff lossesand heartbreaks. It's this shot because like
(20:30):
the rest of the playoffs was intenseand magical, but except for a few
minutes in the Milwaukee series, nothingfelt as crazy as this series in that
run, like the Warriors, eventhe Warriors series was like other than Game
six and I guess Game five,which they lost, in Game two,
(20:52):
which they lost the games they like, there wasn't a lot of tension in
half those games with the Warriors,and this, like this shot to me
was like every Lebron Lebron drinking thebeer, Lebron hitting, buzzer beaters,
Vince leaving, Damar missing, Kylemissing, like all of it was like
(21:17):
after the shot, it was likewe got one. Yeah, Oh,
I couldn't agree more. It reallydid feel that way, and it really
felt that like they'd been through likeyou were laughing at the at the Bucks
adversities at this point because like,obviously they go behind two all in the
next series, but we had survivedthat, and it was like, man,
(21:40):
everything after this is you're still baskingin the glow of the Kawhi shot.
It you're still you're still reliving theKawhi shot a week later in your
four games into another series. Itwas like it has such a lasting reverb
to it. It was like itwas powable, it's it's magic, it's
it's one of those things that likeit. It becomes such a pay off
for being a fan. Really,yeah, it was. It wasn't is
(22:06):
like one a in raptor single moments. Absolutely right. We will continue to
bask in the moment and everything thatcame after it. We were going to
look forward in the next episode.Were're talking about the Buck series and of
course winning that championship against the Warriorson the next episode supports about the storytime
S coach of Bank Arena in downtownToronto transformed into a theater today for potentially
one of the most dramatic days inRaptors history. It's Game seven the Sixers
and the Raptors indeed with Simmons,Harris, Reddick and Jimmy Butler. Scott
(00:22):
Foster walks to center court in bedand get solved and it's controlled by Philadelphia
Lowery pushing it sends it to Greenin the corner Forcacham getting those second and
third shot opportunities. It's been soldfor continuing with us the former Raptor the
(00:47):
boy out because of the two files. Here's Harris's driving that gets it to
Monroe. The former Raptor stole itaway. Here's cob Raptors by three.
He passed Kawa to get him witha slam to Joel and Bead on the
(01:08):
scene the Bucker, they give itto him. The crash God Sarge a
bucking knocks it down from Sterling.It's first made three from the series.
Scott clockdown in the paint. No, indeed, they on a seven point
lead. Reddick indeed has to pickit up that the suelations and his corner
(01:32):
three and it's good. He's holdingUntie. He's in the want of pay
right, he's Reddick launching a threeand it's good. Kawai one who passed
to Simmons acts by six Pascal.They play off of him and he sticks
to day in bed looking for Simmonson the pain. Pascal slots it away,
(01:57):
gathered by Simmons in the response,Simmons times an open Harris and the
gray is good. Lowry, here'ssirds hit one earlier. It's another one
there. The pocket blows out buyingbad Lowry drifting crap. God would out
be with a power to get Kilemount driving and pass the found under the
(02:23):
upfake driving waits for him Bead tofly by patients. Pile mount the salt
in the paint, puts up ashot and it goes a great look for
green and what a taste by Kawhile. Leonard Manigan pottied up on Simmons to
try to throw down an MP andhop haack the back breeze gready and beat
(02:47):
lolwy luck to the lake and Beadgathers it in a lunge of the foe
on Toronto forty five bucks, who'severs train a minute of the treo Jill
Dan's leaders in Leonard at the fileit points on thirty eight shots. Loves
(03:10):
the moment if he gets the opportunityto take a short bought by Harris two
point game you comes colored trugging,layups cord. He ties the game lie
up time, looks at the cluss, turns the corner and for the wind
(03:57):
words five. It is Sportsfeld storytime. We're going back, back, back,
all the way back. We arehit the We've hit the pinnacle,
I mean not the pinnacle, We'vehit the historic moment. In the twenty
nineteen Raptors playoff run May twelve,twenty nineteen, a sold out Scotia Bank
Arena for Game seven between the Philadelphiaseventy six Ers and the Toronto Raptors.
(04:19):
After a back and forth series thatwe chronicled in the previous episode, it
was all come down to this.The rotations are tightened up. It is
eight man rotation for the Sixers,only seven guys in the court for the
Raptors. Really an incredible back andforth game. And we'll get into details
of the game in just one minute. But Jake, first and foremost,
where did you watch Game seven?Of the Eastern This is the Eastern Semis.
(04:44):
I watched this alone in my apartment. I also watched this alone in
an apartment. If there is oneregret I have from the Raptors playoff run
is not watching this game with people, because I don't like watching big games
alone. I'd get a real kickout of crowds in sports and like big
moments and as amazing as this gameis, and we'll get into how amazing
(05:09):
this game is or was. Watchingthis alone was still fun because the game
was so good, but I reallywish I was in a crowd of people
for this one crazy. I wasalso, as I mentioned, I was
also at home watching this alone.My wife was covering this game. She
was right the Scotia Bank Arena forthis which I cannot even physically looking back
(05:30):
at it. I can't even imaginebeing in the room for this. Oh
my god, no, I wouldhave died several I mean I felt like
I was dying watching you at home, let alone in the building. I
just watched a recap video to onceagain and I was like, oh my
god, I can't do this likethis. I feel like with this game,
obviously, all of the attention,all of the coverage, all the
(05:51):
everything is the shot, but like, this is an unbelievable game of basketball.
Yeah, pretty low scoring. Itends ninety two ninety which you know,
given the late nineteens early twenties,scoring is pretty low. But but
(06:12):
oh man it is. It's qualitybasketball. And going back and rewatching this
game the first and the drugs outto me and this is obvious is man,
Kawhi Leonard was really really good inthis game. He had and I
as much as we like to makefun of the seventy sixers, which we
will continue to do after this onestatement, I feel like Kawai was so
(06:39):
good in this game and he hadthree or there's three or four plays in
the fourth quarter that he makes oris involved in that I remember watching the
game being like, okay, wegot it now, and the Sixers just
kept coming back. This is oneof those games where, like you're looking
back at the stats, like manyhe would sixteen of thirty nine. But
(07:01):
I also remember I remember this wasone of those ones where it's like,
if that's what it's gonna take,that's what it's gonna take, and I'm
totally okay with it. Like thefact that Kauai had to shoot basically forty
times to get them through this game. Was like, that's that's what they
were missing in the previous series wetalked about was the guy who was like,
Okay, I'm not having my bestshooting game, but I'm going to
(07:23):
keep shooting because I need to bethe guy that does it for us.
Not only like not to be toolike sportswriter cliche, but like this game
was a battle. Yeah, likeit is, and like because the shot
has overtaken everything about this game.I remember thinking, as these moments in
(07:47):
this game where was happening like liveand now in retrospect watching the recaps,
there are four or five plays thatthe Raptors make. Kyle is a couple,
surges a couple, Pascal as acouple, Kawhi obviously has a bunch
that I was like, oh,well that's going down and like one of
the great plays in Raptors history,and they've all been forgotten because of the
(08:11):
shot. Yeah. Another thing that'swithout to me were watching it is how
many plays end with like Raptors playerscrashing into the back of the like behind
behind the net because they're just likethey're they're all playing so hard. It's
really incredible, like they're just absolutelygrinding for every bucket um Man Kauhi.
I mean in the first half alone, because he turns it on in the
(08:33):
second half. And in the firsthalf he's six of sixteen, five rebounds,
two steels, fifteen points, abunch of break the steels, all
breakaway dunks. He is so goodin this game. He finished with forty
one, and really the cool partabout it is, you know the Sixers
also play pretty well, like andhe ends with twenty one and eleven.
(08:54):
Jimmy Butler has some great moments inthis game. He finishes with sixteen,
but man, and they just goback and forth there. There's some great
jj Reddick moments. He finished withseventeen, and like every one of them
felt like massive points. It's sucha it's such a fun game. Lay,
I know that that maybe that's we'rebeing very broad in our terms,
but like going back to me watchingit, it's like, man, what
(09:15):
a what a what a instant classic. But there, as you said,
there are so many moments where you'relike, like the surge offensive rebound that
gets missed and then and then Markrabs it and hits Kawhi at the top
of the key with an open three, and it's like, man, there's
so many unbelievable moments on both handsopen no, doesn't get a cassault does
(09:39):
it up? Yes, Yeah,that was That's one of the plays that
I thought was like, I believeI don't remember the score, but I
know what one point the Raptors wereeither down three or tied, and Surge
just hit a corner three. Andas we talked about in the last episode,
Searge had been like basically unplayable upto this point. Four on the
(10:03):
clock of Bocca rises up, andthen he hit He just kind of came
alive in this game. And Iremember I remember standing in my living room
alone the entire time, standing thisentire game, and Surge hit that three,
(10:26):
and it was like, oh,this is gonna be like the idea
that this could have potentially been theSurge of Bacca game, and like it
kind of was for a minute.Was crazy. The other the lowry uh
stealing the rebound play and giving itto Surge is the one that I thought
was gonna really live forever in Raptorshistory. And then the like to go
(10:48):
up four with like a minute leftthe Pascal, the lowry steal to the
Pascal flying layup so much to yourpoint, ended with him crashing into the
base of the net. Really likeI was like, okay, that's like
Pascal the seal it to go upfor because at that point I thought we
had it and it was over.It's really it's a crazy game, a
(11:09):
crazy, crazy game. Yeah.That that was the one for me that
in the moment, I was like, it's such a classic Kyle play where
they're like they get an unbelievable trapwith like five seconds in the shot clock.
(11:31):
They trap Harris uh and then hebreaks up the the desperation outlet pass
and then as you said, theygo up four and it's like, oh
my god, like it's a it'ssuch a Kyle play. It's such a
like it's such exactly what this teamwas. It was so perfect that I
was like, oh my goodness,that that's gonna be the stamp on it.
Um unbelievable, just like unbelievable.But man, it's crazy that the
(11:56):
last the last two minutes, thereare so many little plays. Basically on
every possession, you're like something massivehappens. It's crazy to see, like
how amplified. Those last two minutesare because when you're watching it live,
obviously those things feel that way,but then even watching it back, you're
like, oh man, it is. It is like this crazy, Like
Kawhi hits that foot on the lineshot from the elbow to put them up
(12:18):
too Lowry makes the steel feeds Pascalto go up for and then like man,
oh man, there's a bunch ofmiss possessions and rebounds, but there's
so much to them. It's crazy. It's crazy. You know, it's
(12:43):
a crazy game where I think,I mean, I do this. I
don't know if you do this,but I feel like Toronto sports fans sort
of have this in them where we'rebig on looking ahead while big games are
going on. Like I know,I'm thinking back to this might be a
bad example, but it happens.Leafs Bruins in twenty thirteen, the four
one game or any leaf any Leafsgame seven, it's always like, Okay,
(13:07):
well, if they win this,then who's next. And we did
that with the Jay's a lot.I think in twenty fifteen and twenty sixteen,
I'm like, Okay, if theycan win this, who's next.
This game was so intense and ridiculous. The fact that they now had to
go up against the Bucks would youusually would sort of temper things a little
bit, especially in Raptors fandom,where like everything is dire um didn't even
(13:33):
cross my mind, like this gamewas. It was impossible to focus on
anything but this game. Mhm um. Some some great stats sort of in
the in the in the second halfof this game. In the second half,
Kauhi has twenty six um the Searchhas nine, Mark has seven,
Kyle has four, and Pascal hasjust the layup he only has two.
(13:56):
And then in the fourth quarter especially, I think this is my favorite part.
In the fourth quarter, Kauai hasfifteen points and the Raptors as a
team score twenty five. Nobody elsemakes more than one shot in the entire
fourth quarter other than Kauhi, whogoes six of nine, including a three.
It felt that way too. Itwas like a real, a real
(14:18):
living and dying as every shot isin the air kind of game, and
luckily Kawi was taking most of them. It's like I was gonna I've lost
my train of thought, but itwas it was just the Raptors have seen
a lot of crazy games and sawa lot of crazy games in twenty nineteen,
but the back and forth nature ofthis one, even just like the
(14:41):
lead up to the shot itself,is absolutely bananas. And just like it
was like, I don't I don'tknow how any of us, as Raptor
fans like survived this one. Yeah, speaking up that lead up, twelve
seconds left at eighty nine eighty six, Ibaka fouls and bead. He goes
(15:05):
two of two. They would thenon the ensuing endown of course intentionally foul.
They foul Kawai. He makes thefirst and misses the second free throw.
With ten seconds left, Jimmy Butlertakes at the length you talk about
absolutely crushing the ease. The easewith which Jimmy Butler gets this ball and
goes end to end and makes alayup was like you, it took the
(15:31):
air out of the room I wasin. That's for damn sure. I
remember going into this series because JimmyButler had such a history of just absolutely
owning us when he's with the balls, it was obviously we were all terrified
Jimmy Butler. Also Jimmy Butler rules, so like it was easy to be
terrified Jimmy Butler. He wasn't likekept he like, as you said,
(15:54):
he had a good game this game. But as soon as you saw him,
as soon as that freethrow was missedand Butler picked up the ball and
you saw him sort of get momentum, it was just like you knew he
was hitting. I was just terrifiedhe was going to get fouled. Right,
he almost does, he almost does, and I and like it's not
he's and like he just barely getsthat shot off as well. But like
(16:17):
the man, it's as much asiconic and wonderful and amazing and impossible as
the shot is that Jimmy Butler playis equally ridiculous. Yeah, it's amazing.
I remember in real time because yousort of expect the Sixers just to
be like, all right, letlet's get it, let's get a great
(16:38):
shot here, let's slow it downand let's take it three or make sure
we get this shot, and likeJimmy just immediately goes like it's it's four
seconds, he's end to end,and boom, the game is tied.
You don't even have time to likeget nervous about it, because it's just
like before you even realize Kawhi hasmissed. Jimmy is cross mid court going
the other way. It's like,holy cow, I mean, but then,
(17:02):
what can you even say? Goon, I'm time. She looks
at the clock, turns the cornerfrom the way in the air, suspended
(17:26):
in air. You gotta be awareof the inbounder here if you're feeling gets
off the letter defended by Simmons,Is this the taker? Damn sus Toronto's
(17:48):
one fifteen fourth quarter points by Khiletters and the game window forty one point?
(18:15):
I mean twilightard from the right corner, a shot that we will see.
We will probably see it conservatively,You'll probably see it another two thousand
times in the rest of your life. I would say, Yeah, it's
one of those. We talked abouta little about this in one of the
two previous episodes of the story Time, about how the whole run feels very
(18:37):
surreal and kind of like it didn'thappen in a weird way. This feels
ten times that this to me wasmore unbelievable than the fact they won it
all. Wasn't like better, obviously, but it was like, this is
impossible. This shot never happens forthe Raptors, and was just like,
(19:00):
it's funny rewatching this game with thehindsight that they won the title and how
easily they could have lost this gameand it just doesn't happen, and then
to win it on this shot stillto this day feels impossible, unbelievable.
(19:21):
It never gets old to see.It's one of those ones. It's like
the bat flip was like I couldwatch it a million times and never get
sick of it. It never itnever makes any sense. It's never a
logical play. It's just it's justa miracle and the fans and Kauai's face
and the reaction and the eruption.It's just you'll never see anything like it
again in your whole life. Justthe combination of factors that go into that,
(19:45):
you'll you'll never see anything like thatagain. Yeah. I think we
talked, we've said before about howthe twenty fifteen Blue Jays drink was like
that run was so special to usbecause could only have happened at that time
that one time with that team,and any other run will be wonderful in
(20:07):
its own way, but won't bethe same. I feel like this shot
was twenty five years of as muchas as much as it's an easy error
to say, the Raptors winning thetitle was sort of the exorcism of all
those twenty five years of playoff lossesand heartbreaks. It's this shot because like
(20:30):
the rest of the playoffs was intenseand magical, but except for a few
minutes in the Milwaukee series, nothingfelt as crazy as this series in that
run, like the Warriors, eventhe Warriors series was like other than Game
six and I guess Game five,which they lost, in Game two,
(20:52):
which they lost the games they like, there wasn't a lot of tension in
half those games with the Warriors,and this, like this shot to me
was like every Lebron Lebron drinking thebeer, Lebron hitting, buzzer beaters,
Vince leaving, Damar missing, Kylemissing, like all of it was like
(21:17):
after the shot, it was likewe got one. Yeah, Oh,
I couldn't agree more. It reallydid feel that way, and it really
felt that like they'd been through likeyou were laughing at the at the Bucks
adversities at this point because like,obviously they go behind two all in the
next series, but we had survivedthat, and it was like, man,
(21:40):
everything after this is you're still baskingin the glow of the Kawhi shot.
It you're still you're still reliving theKawhi shot a week later in your
four games into another series. Itwas like it has such a lasting reverb
to it. It was like itwas powable, it's it's magic, it's
it's one of those things that likeit. It becomes such a pay off
for being a fan. Really,yeah, it was. It wasn't is
(22:06):
like one a in raptor single moments. Absolutely right. We will continue to
bask in the moment and everything thatcame after it. We were going to
look forward in the next episode.Were're talking about the Buck series and of
course winning that championship against the Warriorson the next episode supports about the storytime
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