Nick Nurse must have delivered one heck of a halftime speech because the second-half Raptors in no way resembled the team that played the first 24 minutes. A 37-point third-quarter surge and a game-high 36 points from Kawhi Leonard pushed Nurse's Toronto squad past Golden State 105-92 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals and into a 3-1 series lead.
The Raptors trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and shot just 34 percent overall, including 2 of 17 from 3-point range, before the break, but they used a 27-12 run in the third to pull away and never looked back. Leonard's 36 points were a postseason career high.
While Toronto didn't get quite the overall team performance it received in Game 3 — Danny Green only made one basket in Game 4 — Serge Ibaka recorded his most efficient playoff game to date, scoring 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in just 21 minutes. Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry combined for 29 points and were the only two starters other than Leonard to score in double figures.
MORE: The Raptors' NBA Finals run is costing McDonald's millions in french fries
Golden State jumped out to its early lead on the back of a rejuvenated Klay Thompson, who missed Game 3 with a hamstring injury. He scored a team-high 28 points and played good defense despite the lingering ailment. Kevon Looney also surprisingly returned to the lineup Friday night after originally being ruled out for all of the series with a collarbone injury. He scored 10 points off the bench.
Stephen Curry finished with 27 points, but much of thatscoring came in garbage time as the Raptors had a commanding lead. After a phenomenal Game 3 performance in which he scored 47 points, Curry struggled much of Friday night, including missing his first five shots from behind the arc.
The series moves back to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Monday night with the Raptors in need of just one victory to secure their franchise's first NBA title. Should the Raptors win, Game 4 will be the last game ever played by the Warriors in Oakland's Oracle Arena — a game Warriors fans begin leaving with several minutes still on the clock. One of the biggest questions now is whether Warriors fans will get to see Kevin Durant again this season.
Sporting News tracked live updates during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Follow along below (all times Eastern):
Raptors vs. Warriors: Score, highlights from Game 4
Final: Raptors 105, Warriors 92
11:36 p.m.:The Raptors are headed home just one win away from an NBA championship. Leonard finished with a game-high 36 points.
11:32 p.m.:The lead is back to a dozen as Siakam buries a jumper with two minutes to play. Fans begin heading for the exits.
Exiting. pic.twitter.com/HoWcc5bfx3
— Henry Abbott (@TrueHoop) June 8, 2019
11:29 p.m.:Curry knocks down a 3. Golden State is only down by eight.
11:27 p.m.:Leonard converts two from the line to put Toronto up by 13 with 3:25 remaining
11:20 p.m.: TwoCurry free throws cut the lead to 10 with 5:20 left.
11:17 p.m.:Thompson is still out here giving his best as he makes his sixth 3 of the game.
11:15 p.m.:Danny Green hits a 3 — his first basket of the night.
11:09 p.m.:Leonard makes his fifth 3 to put the Raptors up by 16 with 8:40 to play. Toronto is 7 of 10 from 3 this half. It was 2 of 17 in the first half.
— NBA (@NBA) June 8, 2019Lowry, Leonard... 3-ball, corner pocket!
See AlsoWarriors 126-110 Raptors (Dec 18, 2022) Final Score - ESPNToronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors: Live score, updates, news, stats and highlights | Sporting News CanadaRaptors 133-118 Warriors (Jan 7, 2024) Final Score - ESPNWarriors 119-104 Raptors (Nov 21, 2021) Final Score - ESPNKawhi has tied his #NBAFinals career-high of 34 PTS!#WeTheNorth 88#StrengthInNumbers 76
7:48 left on ABC & TSN pic.twitter.com/yoYWhFSC7s
11:07 p.m.:A little break as VanVleet heads to the locker room bleeding.
It looks like there was a tooth on the court after VanVleet headed back to the locker room 🧐 pic.twitter.com/jcWA1dXHsb
— ESPN (@espn) June 8, 2019
11:03 p.m.:Leonard and Lowry check back into the game with 9:35 remaining. The Warriors have missed 13 of their last 15.
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 8, 2019Buckets. 🏀💦
Kawhi just dropped 17 PTS in the 3rd QTR at Oracle. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/IZnE9DcpIg
11p.m.:VanVleet picks up where the Raptors left off and hits a 3.
End of third quarter: Raptors 79, Warriors 67
10:56 p.m.:Leonard scores 17 points in the third and all of a sudden Toronto is in complete control of this game. Thompson leads Golden State with 22.
10:53 p.m.:Make that an 18-3 run, and Toronto leads by 13 after trailing by 11 in the first half.
10:50 p.m.:An Ibaka jumper extends a 12-2 Raptors run with 1:38 to play this quarter.
10:45 p.m.:Green picks up a technical for arguing. Toronto leads by four.
10:41 p.m.:Now Ibaka hits a 3 to give the Raptors their largest lead (three) of the night with four minutesto play in the quarter.
Ibaka with the block, Ibaka for 3! pic.twitter.com/vNmAJV1UVF
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) June 8, 2019
10:37 p.m.:Gasol makes a 3 as the shot clock expires to put Toronto back in front.
10:32 p.m.:Thompson has 19 points after draining his third 3 of the game.
10:29 p.m.:Cousins scores to put Golden State back up by five. VanVleet answers with a 3. Toronto is 3-of-5 from distance this quarter after starting 3-of-17 in the first half.
10:25 p.m.:Well, Leonard is back and scores a pair of 3s to open the half. Toronto has its first lead of the night.
Halftime: Warriors 46, Raptors 42
10:09 p.m.:Gasol misses a 3 as time expires, and somehow Toronto is only down four ar the half. The Raptors have shot 34 percent. Thompson and Leonard lead all scorers with 14 points.
— NBA (@NBA) June 8, 2019Klay Thompson pours in 14 PTS and the @warriors are in front at halftime of Game 4! #NBAFinals #StrengthInNumbers 46#WeTheNorth 42
Kevon Looney: 8 PTS, 4-5 FGM
Steph Curry: 8 PTS, 3 AST
Kawhi Leonard: 14 PTS, 2 3PM🇺🇸: ABC 🇨🇦: TSN pic.twitter.com/fJOAkkbvWX
10:06 p.m.:Gasol slams it home to make this a four-point game again. Curry is 0 of 5 from deep.
10:04 p.m.:Draymond Green has six points, six assists and seven rebounds with over two to play this half.
9:58 p.m.:Thompson hits a transition 3, followed by a Lowry miss from 3. Toronto is 2 of 15 from deep.
Ohhhh @KlayThompson is feelin' it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9EyiwYNElI
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 8, 2019
— NBA (@NBA) June 8, 2019Klay Thompson's back-to-back buckets give him 14 PTS for the half! 🔥#StrengthInNumbers 42#WeTheNorth 34
3:48 left in Q2 on ABC & TSN
9:56 p.m.:Toronto going with a double big man lineup with Gasol and Ibaka. It's working early as the Warriors lead just 37-34.
9:52 p.m.:Siakam makes a tough layup and the foul.
9:48 p.m.:More nasty stats: Danny Green is 0 for 6 with five misses from 3, the Raptors have been outrebounded 22-11 and both teams are a combined 3 of 20 from 3.
9:46 p.m.:Thompson hits another jumper, and he has seven points.
9:43 p.m.:Ibaka scores first, and it's just a four-point game.
End of first quarter: Warriors 23, Raptors 17
9:37 p.m.:What an ugly quarter for Toronto. They manage to close a 13-point deficit to eight, but only Leonard has been effective with 14 points.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 8, 2019Kawhi in the 1st quarter: 5-8 FG for 14 pts
All other Raptors combined: 1-13 FG for 3 pts pic.twitter.com/sDt7SF2dLC
9:34 p.m.:Kawhi Leonard is 5 for 7from the field. His teammates are 1 for 13.
9:29 p.m.:Timeout, Raptors, trailing 17-10with 4:06.
— NBA (@NBA) June 8, 2019Steph steps back to set up the jumper!#StrengthInNumbers 17#WeTheNorth 10
🇺🇸: ABC 🇨🇦: TSN pic.twitter.com/SFTndaTOBi
9:25 p.m.:Toronto is 2 of 11 to start, yet they're down just three.
9:23 p.m.:Looney immediately scores following Danny Green missing his third 3.
That's some beautiful basketball 💯 pic.twitter.com/X3O92JMpEs
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 8, 2019
9:23 p.m.:Kevon Looney checks in with 6:42 to play and the Warriors up 8-5.
9:17 p.m.:Klay Thompson gets on the board.
9:14 p.m.:Make that three turnovers for Cousins before the Warriors have any basket. Steph Curry makes the fist bucket of the night after both teams combined to miss the first seven shots of the night.
1 field goal, 7 turnovers so far...
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) June 8, 2019
9:12 p.m.:DeMarcus Cousins turns it over on the first two Golden State possessions.
9:11 p.m.:Toronto wins the tip, but Danny Green misses the first shot of the night.
8:50 p.m.:Kevon Looney is active tonight.
Kevon Looney getting shots up. He might actually play in Game 4 pic.twitter.com/61pbbUJao2
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 7, 2019
