- [Narrator] It's May 5th, 2018.
We're in Cleveland, Ohio for Game 3
of the Eastern Conference Semifinals
between the vengeful Toronto Raptors
and the domineering hometown Cavaliers.
Tied at 103 with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter,
the Raptors are down to their last chance
to prove to the world, and possibly themselves,
that they can stop the Cavs.
If they win, they're one step closer to that goal.
If they fall flat on their face,
their season will likely end in a way
that's become all too familiar
with this dude on the other end.
But before we see what comes next, we gotta rewind.
(gentle music)
The Raptors have to be sick of this by now.
This is their third straight
postseason clash with the Cavs,
and unfortunately for Toronto,
Cleveland has smoked them every time.
The Raptors just recently proved
they're more than an expansion team.
When the franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary
during the 2015 season,
the team had advanced past the first round of the playoffs
just one time.
They capped off their milestone season
staying true to form and getting swept in the first round.
However, the following year came with a new look.
The organization abandoned its cartoonist dribbling dino
for a simple shield.
With that new look came a few new faces.
But more importantly,
some elevated play by their rising stars of this franchise:
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
They were the engine of this team,
forming a dynamic back court
and becoming the franchise's first pair
of All-Star teammates.
Toronto broke from tradition
and enjoyed a magical post-season run,
advancing to their first-ever Conference Finals.
Unfortunately, they ran into LeBron James, Kyrie Irving,
Kevin Love, and the rest of the Cavaliers,
who went on to win Cleveland's first-ever NBA title.
Although Toronto lost the series in six,
they had plenty of positives to take away.
Highlights included delivering Cleveland their first loss
of the post-season.
They rallied around in an us against the world mentality
to force it into a best of three series.
Experts viewed the Raptors as a team ahead of schedule,
thankful to find themselves deep in the postseason.
Head coach Dwane Casey saw the series
as a growing opportunity to match Cleveland's level.
The following year, the Raptors established
they weren't just some team happy to be in the mix,
but a legit threat in the East.
They reached the Conference Semifinals
for a rematch against the Cavs.
Journalists believed the Raptors were better suited
for a more competitive series,
but despite the optimism, it went far worse.
Once again, instead of sulking,
DeRozan and the rest of Toronto
knew they had to take it on the chin
and get it back next year.
(tape rewinding)
And here they are,
fighting for another Conference Finals appearance.
This team just keeps evolving.
They're here thanks to some new faces
that can hopefully lead to new results.
(tape rewinding)
The 2018 Raptors thrived off a splendid mix
of their go-to stars with some rather fresh faces.
The back court leaders unsurprisingly kept things rolling,
adding more All-Star appearances
while building a precious bromance in the process.
But the team also leaned heavily on the presence
of their adaptable young bench,
which allowed Casey the peace to never stress
who was on the floor.
A standout of the youthful bunch was rookie, OG Anunoby.
Headed into the 2017 draft,
experts drooled over Anunoby's defensive prowess and upside,
but his injury history
and questions around his offensive game
saw him fall to Toronto late in the first round,
leading ESPN analyst, Fran Fraschilla,
to call him a sexy blogger pick.
(laughs) Turns out the bloggers had an eye for sex appeal,
I mean, I mean, draft talent.
Toronto relied on Anunoby's defensive versatility
able to guard spots one through five,
as he often found himself in the starting lineup.
With Lowry and DeRozan holding it down,
the youngins making noise, and consistent veteran support,
the Raptors had arguably the most complete roster in the NBA
and went on to win a franchise record 59 games,
earning the top seed in the conference.
Strapped with home court advantage
throughout the post-season, these new and dangerous Raptors
are prepared to make a deep run.
After knocking off the Wizards in the first round,
Toronto had to ready themselves for another showdown
against their playoff nemesis.
For the Raptors, there was no better opportunity
to prove their legitimacy than finally besting the Cavs.
If they wanted that championship trophy,
DeRozan knew they had to go through the best.
You know how the saying goes.
Third time's a charm...
'cause you already know what failure feels like.
Okay, that's def a low blow, but gah damn.
That's three seasons straight
where the Raptors lost the opening two games
against the Cavs.
And tonight's Game 3 didn't start pretty.
To pop things off, Casey opted to go smaller,
making a major lineup change,
inserting second-year man, Fred VanVleet,
in the leading five, joining Anunoby,
who started the entire series.
Casey fully bet on his youthful talent,
but the gamble didn't pay off early.
It wasn't all on the young guys.
The Cavs just dominated the Raptors as a unit from the jump
and entered the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead.
Although just as it appeared to be
another yearly drubbing from Cleveland, Toronto clawed back,
led by a surprising offensive output from their rook.
Down 12 with less than 10 minutes to play,
Anunoby caught a pass in the corner and knocked in a three,
bringing Cleveland's lead to single digits.
After trading baskets for a few minutes,
Anunoby refused to let Cleveland run away with the lead
and drained this spot up backboard three,
cutting Cleveland's lead to four.
Look, the shot might not have been pretty,
but the Raptors found themselves within striking distance
thanks to OG, and he wasn't finished.
As Toronto trailed by five
with less than two minutes to play,
Anunoby drove to the rim, missed his layup,
but grabbed the rebound and went up for a strong putback.
Following missed shots by both sides
and Cleveland splitting free throws,
Toronto absolutely needed a bucket.
Down four with under 30 seconds to play,
Lowry took over and put Jeff Green on skates
before accelerating to the rim for a smooth lay,
bringing the Raptors within two.
This is what you got with the new and improved Raptors.
Up until that point,
their splendid mix of new and old talent
was on full display,
with the fourth quarter becoming the Kyle and OG show.
With less than 20 seconds left,
the Raptors were forced to foul and sent Green to the line.
As an 87% shooter from the stripe,
Green knocking down both shots
would've made things extremely difficult for Toronto.
After hitting the first one,
the second free throw could very well be the game.
Uh-oh, Toronto still has a chance.
But with no timeouts, they need to hurry.
Pushing the ball up the court,
CJ Miles found Anunoby behind the three-point line,
who sent Green flying with a pump fake
before drilling the game-tying three.
Here's a dude in his first season
showing no fear in crunch time
and nailing the biggest shot of his young career.
With little time remaining,
Cleveland chose to take the ball out under the basket
instead of advancing to half court.
It's an interesting choice, but oh no.
If you're a Raptors fan,
this is by far the last person you wanna see with the ball
charging down the court.
Not only is LeBron James a locomotive in open space,
ready to barrel over anyone who gets in his way,
but he's been the main protagonist
in Toronto's recurring nightmare.
(tape rewinding)
Over LeBron's illustrious career,
experts have tried poking holes in his game,
critiquing him for shying away from big moments.
It's kind of a silly critique,
but one team LeBron's surely never lacked confidence against
was the Toronto Raptors.
In 2005 during his second year in the league,
LeBron dropped a then-career high 56 points in Toronto.
Three years later, he added another statement game up north,
wiping away a Raptor's 20-point lead in a win
that became Toronto's biggest collapse in franchise history.
LeBron had a fantastic regular season record
against the Raptors,
but he was even more menacing to Toronto in the postseason.
In 2016 when the Raptors emerged as a new threat
in the Eastern Conference,
Bron hardly viewed them as a real competitor.
After Toronto tied the Conference Final series at two games,
LeBron and the Cavs smacked the Raptors in Game 5.
Adding insult to injury, after the win,
LeBron said the situation wasn't one to really worry about.
I guess you're allowed to talk that way
if you nearly average a double-double in the series
The following season,
it's not like the Raptors rolled over.
Besides their back court duo steadily improving,
the team made strategic moves
with the specific aim of taking down LeBron.
They got more physical,
adding wing defender PJ Tucker in the off-season,
and acquired Serge Ibaka through a mid-season trade,
who added toughness in the paint.
No matter, a sweep is one thing,
but Bron toyed with Toronto the entire series.
During Game 1, he was just rude
in a 35-point double-dub performance
that included a filthy off-hand slam
set up by Kyrie Irving laying one off the glass.
Later, he showed just how easy things were going
by pretending to drink a beer on the sideline
after a foul call.
In Game 2, LeBron continued to show little consideration
for the Raptors.
He tried Ibaka, treating a three-point shot
like a damn free throw routine
before splashing it right in his face.
But LeDisrespectful played the Raptors like a JV team,
and honestly, his numbers fully backed up his antics.
Although this 2018 season,
LeBron and Cleveland were positioned
to finally fall against Toronto.
Cleveland had gone through a dramatic roster overhaul
during the season
and the team struggled to find its identity.
It took seven games for the Cavs
to get past the scrappy Indiana Pacers in the first round,
where they needed a buzzer-beater winning shot
from LeBron in Game 5.
This wasn't the same mighty Cavs
that the Raptors faced in the past,
but the one constant was LeBron James.
In the series opening game,
Toronto had Cleveland on the ropes,
controlling the lead for the entirety of regulation.
But, of course, LeBron knocked down a game-tying shot
with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth
before going on to steal Game 1 on the road.
The following game, Toronto showed up to play again.
Everything looked smooth for the Raptors
as they took a two-point lead into halftime,
then the third quarter happened.
LeBron exploded with a ridiculous stat line,
which led ESPN announcer Mark Jones to drop this statement
headed into break.
- [Mark] We'll be back to LeBronto
for the fourth quarter after this.
- [Narrator] LeBronto?
King James had owned Toronto so much
that announcers were ready to turn
the naming rights of the city over to him.
It's like LeBron had mind control over the Raptors.
No matter the roster changes or how much they improve,
every time they faced him in the postseason,
they crumbled into pieces,
and tonight's game didn't start off any different.
Whether it was LBJ using his strength, driving to the hole,
and drawing an and-one,
or threading the needle to find his teammate
on a sweet pass,
he was everywhere on the floor
as Cleveland took a 15-point lead into the half.
And unfortunately for Toronto, he was only heating up.
As the Raptors started to strike back in the fourth quarter,
Bron kept them in check.
When Toronto pulled within five points
with under eight minutes to play,
LeBron hit Anunoby with a clean one-dribble pull-up.
Later when Cleveland held onto a two-point lead,
Bron split defenders on his way to the rim
before finishing a tough layup and drawing the foul.
The man hit an assortment of shots,
but really started feeling himself late in the fourth.
As Toronto brought it back within three points,
LeBron backed down CJ Miles into the paint,
then whipped out a silky turnaround fade-away jumper.
LeBron locked in and continued to deny Toronto's chance
to take the lead, but he wasn't perfect.
With 30 seconds to play and an opportunity to extend
Cleveland's lead to five at the free throw line,
LeBron split his shots at the charity stripe.
It may not seem like a lot,
but in a tight game of this magnitude,
a missed free throw shot here and another missed shot there
adds up to a rookie potentially being a hero for his team
on the other end,
which brings us here.
With the clock ticking in its final seconds,
if the Raptors get a stop,
they'll have a chance to win this game in overtime
and overcome a performance
by the man that's tortured them for years.
LeBron loves getting his teammates involved,
but as he makes his way up the court,
he could add another gut-wrenching moment
by ripping out Toronto's heart with a game-winning shot.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Commentator] Three seconds to go.
Throws up the floater.
Off glass!
Goodnight!
Cleveland, that is for you.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Hello, thanks for watching.
Sorry to the people of Toronto that had to relive that pain,
but I promise we have some positive content for you.
And if you want to see someone other than LeBron
be the hero for the Cavs, give this a look.
Don't forget to like and subscribe, and keep on coming back.
Peace.