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Kawhi Leonard hit a buzzer-beating jump shot that bounced up and around the rim before finally dropping through the net, and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on Sunday night in the seventh and deciding game of their Eastern Conference semifinal.
Leonard finished with 41 points and eight rebounds, and the winning shot came after Jimmy Butler had tied the game on a layup with 4.2 seconds remaining.
“I ended up catching it and just trying to get to a space,” Leonard said. “Ended up getting a soft touch and going in.”
Teammates swarmed Leonard along the baseline after his fall-away shot from the right corner. He let out a scream as fans danced in the stands.
Toronto advanced to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference final. The Raptors are seeking their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
Leonard hit a 24-foot jumper with 1:42 to play to give Toronto an 87-85 lead.
“I knew it was Game 7 — this could have been my last game for the season. It could have been another five months for my next game,” Leonard said. “This team is hungry to reach a goal we’ve been struggling for all year.”
The Raptors led by four with 1:14 to play on a steal by Kyle Lowry, who set up Pascal Siakam for the layup.
Butler made one of two free throws, cutting the lead to three. With 12.1 seconds to play, Joel Embiid made two free throws to trim the lead to one.
Leonard made one of two free throws with 10.8 seconds remaining, and Butler tied the score at 90 on his layup.
Serge Ibaka provided 17 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors. Siakam had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Lowry, who had an injured thumb taped in the first half, had 10 points, and Marc Gasol added seven points and 11 rebounds.
Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers. JJ Redick scored 17 points, Butler added 16, Tobias Harris scored 15 and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Ben Simmons finished with 13 points.
After the Raptors took a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter on Ibaka’s 3-pointer, Embiid’s 3-pointer put the 76ers ahead by one point with 7:37 left.
The Raptors took a five-point lead on Leonard’s floating jumper and a free throw with 4:48 to go
But Redick nailed a jumper and hit the free throw to tie the game at 85 with 3:29 remaining.
The Raptors led 18-13 after one quarter and 44-40 at halftime.
–Field Level Media