Calgary-raised stop-motion animator Jared Jacobs is a big Toronto Raptors fan and wants star player Kawhi Leonard to stay with the NBA Championship team.

So to help convince the soon-to-be free agent, Jacobs has turned to his own area of expertise: Lego.

In a stop-motion video thatB次元官网网址檚 gone viral, Jacobs used the toy pieces to meticulously recreate LeonardB次元官网网址檚 famous buzzer-beater moment against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the second round.

B次元官网网址淚t was one of those things where I was like, B次元官网网址楳aybe this will make a difference in Kawhi picking Toronto, like the plant guy,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Jacobs said Tuesday in a phone interview from his home in Boise, Idaho.

Jacobs was referring to a Raptors fan who became an Internet sensation for carrying an uprooted large plant in the streets of Toronto after the championship win, telling Global B次元官网网址 it was B次元官网网址渁 housewarming gift for Kawhi B次元官网网址� a Kawhactus.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he Internet is a weird place, so every little bit helps and that was my contribution,B次元官网网址� said Jacobs, 41.

Jacobs said he started using Lego in his stop-motion work about five years ago after playing around with his nephewsB次元官网网址� pieces in his mother-in-lawB次元官网网址檚 basement during Thanksgiving.

He first used the interlocking plastic bricks and figurines to recreate a scene from the series B次元官网网址淏reaking BadB次元官网网址� for his Instagram account, which he says got attention from some of the actors on the show.

Jacobs made more Lego videos and gained so much buzz, he quit his job to focus exclusively on them as a freelancer, landing contracts with companies including Bleacher Report, the Golf Channel, and the NHL Network.

He said he wanted to recreate the Leonard buzzer-beater scene earlier but felt it was a conflict of interest because he was doing work for the Golden State Warriors during the Finals.

He isnB次元官网网址檛 sponsored by Lego (although heB次元官网网址檇 like to be) and has to custom-make many pieces.

For the buzzer-beater project, his graphic-designer friend created the jerseys.

B次元官网网址淲ith KawhiB次元官网网址檚 hair I just had to use a nail file to make it look like it was cornrows, because Lego doesnB次元官网网址檛 make cornrows,B次元官网网址� Jacobs said.

B次元官网网址淚 ruined a couple of my hair pieces trying to get it to look just right.B次元官网网址�

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The buzzer-beater video took about 40 hours to make, not including the research he put into it.

The end where the crowd jumped up and down raising their hands was B次元官网网址減ainstakingly long,B次元官网网址� he said, requiring him to move dozens of little people at the same time each frame.

LeonardB次元官网网址檚 shot bounced four times, but Jacobs had to take a bounce out in order to properly link the sound up with the visuals.

The team has posted it on its Instagram and Twitter pages.

B次元官网网址淭his one is cool just because itB次元官网网址檚 something that has blown up in Canada, which is my homeland,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just cool to see all the Canadians come out of the woodwork and appreciate my work. That special to me.B次元官网网址�

Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press

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