NBA Finals: This Time, Toronto Owns the Third-Quarter Surge, Goes 3-1 Up

These are awkward times in the East Bay.

Cheers inside Oracle Arena were almost louder for the Toronto Raptors than they were for Golden State.

For all the anticipated outpouring of sentiment in these last days of the Dubs playing here, it seems the lure of ticket resale profits is greater. Those outlets made bank outta Game 4.

 

That's a hella lotta maple syrup being poured, and why not?

The Raps just swept the Dubs in Oakland by winning this one, 105-92.

 

109 points woulda come in handy here, but TO had a plan for that.

Go big, go hard, and go 20-4 in one stretch of the third quarter:

 

Really, Steph?

Leave it to a fembot to confirm the obvious:

 

Every game, Raptors not named Kawhi Leonard step up to complement the one who is named Kawhi Leonard (36pts; 11-22 FG, 5-9 arc, 9-9 FT) to handle the scoring load.

This time it was the tag-team of Serge Ibaka off the bench (20pts; 9-12 FG, 1-1 FT) and Pascal Siakam (19pts; 6-14 FG, 7-8 FG). On the other end of the court, dudes joined Leonard (12 boards; 11 defensively) in choking off the State's inside game.

 

Conversely, there was no one home when Klay Thompson (28pts; 11-18 FG, 6-10 arc, 0-0 FT) and a houndedly ineffective Steph Curry (27pts; 9-22 FG, 2-9 arc; 7-8 FT).

Collectively, the supporting cast managed an empty 0-8 performance from the arc, which only served to have the Raps forget about them and focus on face time with secondary help on the Splash Brothers. They simply wore the duo down.

 

A souvenir shop nearby has been doing land-office business selling Oakland Warriors caps, underscoring the civic prominence the Dubs never showed.

After flamboyant new owner Franklin Mieuli bought the team and moved them from Philadelphia to San Francisco, it couldn't draw flies and wound up playing in various venues around the Bay Area. So, he thought he'd try splitting regions, including San Diego as a home territory.

 

Thus, a joint-city name would be too clumsy, the Lakers would object to using the state name, so Mieuli settled on the state's nickname.

By the time the team settled in Oakland, the brand name had been established.

 

Unless Kevin Durant dials 1-800-FAITH-HEALER or something, the Dubs might've played their last game in Oakland already.

Because Toronto's now firing on all cylinders.