The Toronto Raptors are one win away from their first NBA Championship in franchise history. One win away from upending two-time defending champs Golden State. One win from bringing the Larry OB次元官网网址橞rien Trophy to Canada for the first time, and igniting whatB次元官网网址檚 sure to be mass pandemonium among Raptors fans from coast to coast.
Pressure? Nah. Not according to Kyle Lowry.
The veteran point guard says heB次元官网网址檚 living the dream. Pressure, he said, is his mom Marie Holloway waking up at the crack of dawn and travelling 90 minutes to work on PhiladelphiaB次元官网网址檚 public transit to feed her kids.
B次元官网网址淕etting up at five in the morning and going to work and making me cereal, having a bowl of cereal sitting in the refrigerator with some milk and being able to provide for me and my brother and my family B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 pressure. ThatB次元官网网址檚 pressure to me,B次元官网网址� Lowry said Sunday.
B次元官网网址淛ust being willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that your kid will see better than what youB次元官网网址檝e ever seen. People like that are heroes to me B次元官网网址� just going to work and grinding and doing whatever it takes to provide for your family.B次元官网网址�
The Raptors can clinch the title with a victory over two-time defending champion Golden State on Monday at Scotiabank Arena. It would cap an historic post-season run that has captured CanadaB次元官网网址檚 collective imagination and whipped Raptors fans into a frenzy.
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But donB次元官网网址檛 tell the players that.
B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 do nothing yet. We havenB次元官网网址檛 done anything,B次元官网网址� said Lowry, whoB次元官网网址檚 making his Finals debut in his 13th season in the league. B次元官网网址漌e still got to get one more win. ItB次元官网网址檚 the first to four.B次元官网网址�
The Raptors have drawn comparisons to the 2004 Detroit Pistons, who, armed with a rock-solid defence, upset a Los Angeles Lakers team loaded with stars to win the Larry OB次元官网网址橞rien Trophy.
But Toronto has talked about the NBA title as being its ultimate goal since Day 1 of this season, after president Masai Ujiri acquired enigmatic star Kawhi Leonard for DeMar DeRozan in the blockbuster trade of the summer, then added Marc Gasol at FebruaryB次元官网网址檚 trade deadline.
Over the course of the season, theyB次元官网网址檝e developed a collective personality of quiet calm in the midst of the storm. After stealing two wins on Golden StateB次元官网网址檚 home court, it was tough to tell the newcomers from a stacked Warriors team playing in its fifth straight Finals.
You already know what today is.
B次元官网网址� Toronto Raptors (@Raptors)
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Leonard has been the teamB次元官网网址檚 Zen master after missing all but nine games last season with San Antonio. In the moments the Raptors have trailed this post-season, the 27-year-old has settled them down. HeB次元官网网址檚 reminded them to enjoy the moment.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 why youB次元官网网址檙e here,B次元官网网址� he said Saturday. B次元官网网址漎ou never know when those times will come when youB次元官网网址檙e not going to be able to play or you get injured.B次元官网网址�
HeB次元官网网址檚 perfected his unique unflappability, he said, over his years of playing.
B次元官网网址淛ust learning from past experience, past games that I lost, games that I won, seeing what I felt like or what I was thinking at those specific times and just bringing it back to current-day reality, the moment that IB次元官网网址檓 in,B次元官网网址� he said.
The 33-year-old Lowry echoed Leonard, saying his ability to live in the moment has improved over the years.
B次元官网网址淓very day isnB次元官网网址檛 given to you,B次元官网网址� Lowry said. B次元官网网址漎ou just should be happy you wake up every day. People ask me how IB次元官网网址檓 doing and I say, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 great. IB次元官网网址檓 alive.B次元官网网址� ThatB次元官网网址檚 kind of the staying-in-the-moment thing that IB次元官网网址檝e always lived by.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e just kind of made that the forefront of our team. IB次元官网网址檓 here playing basketball for a living. IB次元官网网址檓 healthy, my kids are healthy. LifeB次元官网网址檚 pretty good.B次元官网网址�
A reporter repeated LowryB次元官网网址檚 philosophical words to Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Sunday. The coach was equally thoughtful when he talked about appreciating the moment.
B次元官网网址淲e play basketball for a living or coach for a living. WeB次元官网网址檙e among the luckiest people on earth,B次元官网网址� Kerr said. B次元官网网址滻tB次元官网网址檚 all perspective. We are incredibly lucky to live the lives that we do and to be here competing for an NBA championship. When you talk about pressure and daunting tasks and all that, just look around the world. WeB次元官网网址檙e doing all right and weB次元官网网址檙e lucky and we know how lucky we are.B次元官网网址�
The Raptors were back home Sunday after winning twice at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. TheyB次元官网网址檝e won seven of their last eight post-season games.
Hundred of fans made the trip to Oakland for Games 3 and 4 serenading the team with B次元官网网址淥 CanadaB次元官网网址� as they walked off the floor. Back home, Raptors fans started staking their spots in the lineup to get into Jurassic Park on Saturday B次元官网网址� two days before Game 5 tips off.
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Random B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 go Raptors!B次元官网网址� chants have broken out at gatherings across the country, including the Canadian Open golf tournament in Hamilton. ItB次元官网网址檚 happened in bars, in schoolyards, and on flights landing in Toronto.
Nick Nurse was pleasantly surprised to hear that.
B次元官网网址淚 always learn this stuff when I come to press conferences,B次元官网网址� the rookie head coach said.
The residents in his condo building, he said, had posted a picture in his elevator of a viewing party theyB次元官网网址檇 held for Game 4, B次元官网网址渟o I wouldnB次元官网网址檛 miss that.B次元官网网址�
Can the team embrace the fan frenzy?
B次元官网网址淚 think we have been embracing it this whole time,B次元官网网址� Leonard said. B次元官网网址滼ust enjoying the support and the energy that theyB次元官网网址檙e bringing to the team.B次元官网网址�
A young boy who was reporting for CBC Kids prompted an emotional response from Lowry when he asked how it felt to be an icon for kids across Canada.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 a crazy question. I ainB次元官网网址檛 never been asked that one. I donB次元官网网址檛 know,B次元官网网址� Lowry said. B次元官网网址淚 will put it this way: I was once a kid and I was once in your shoes. To be able to know kids one day will want to be like me, I hold myself to a super high standard.
B次元官网网址淚 want kids and you to see a man thatB次元官网网址檚 really professional, really about his business, but at the same time heB次元官网网址檚 still fun and loving and everything else.B次元官网网址�
If Golden State wins Monday, the series would go back to Oakland for Game 6 on Thursday.
Lori Ewing , The Canadian Press
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