Leonard, Raptors to face Bucks, Antetokounmpo in East final

Reuters

For the second time in four seasons, Toronto is headed to the Eastern Conference final.

While the Raptors won't have to deal with playoff nemesis LeBron James this time, they will face a tough task in controlling Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the National Basketball Association's highest-scoring offense.

Of course, Toronto will counter with Kawhi Leonard.

He hit the game-winning buzzer-beater on Sunday to help Toronto edge Philadelphia 92-90 in Game 7 of its Eastern Conference semifinal series, setting up a showdown between the East's top teams during the regular season.

Leonard's shot bounced around the rim four times before dropping through the basket.

"It was great," Leonard said. "That's something I never experienced before, Game 7, a game-winning shot. It was a blessing to be able to get to that point and make that shot and feel that moment."

Leonard and the Raptors will have a few hours to enjoy it; the conference final begin on Wednesday night (Thursday morning China time) in Milwaukee. In its only other conference final appearance, Toronto lost to James and Cleveland in six games in 2016.

The Raptors are well aware of the challenge ahead.

Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said the Bucks have been "pretty dominant" in winning eight of nine postseason games — including the past four straight.

"They've got a lot of weapons and they're pretty deep," Lowry said. "They shoot the ball as well as anybody in the NBA and then they've got the one-man fast break in Giannis."

The Bucks beat the Raptors three times in four regular-season meetings. Lowry was injured when Toronto won 123-116 at Milwaukee on January 5.

"We know we've got a tough task at hand," Lowry said. "We have to prepare for it and get ready to go."

Toronto coach Nick Nurse said the Bucks present challenges his team hasn't faced in eliminating Orlando and Philadelphia in the first two rounds.

"It's a little different style that we're going to see," Nurse said. "We're going to have to adjust to that really quickly, obviously, and forget about how happy we are pretty quickly because it's a hungry team. It's a very deep team, a very good team. We're going to have to continue to grow and we're going to have to play better."

Leonard scored 41 points on 16-of-39 shooting in Game 7 against the 76ers. He topped 30 points five times in the series and averaged 34.7 points overall.

Reuters

Nurse said Leonard has been playing at an "elite level" in the postseason. Toronto center Marc Gasol agrees with his coach.

Leonard "can create a shot out of pretty much nothing", Gasol said. "He's a mismatch all around."

In Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have a similar matchup nightmare for Toronto.

The Raptors will need contributions for everyone, including Lowry — who briefly left Game 7 because of a sprained left thumb but returned and played the entire second half.

"I couldn't really pass the ball and grip the ball, but that doesn't matter," Lowry said. "I'm fine."

Milwaukee has been resting since eliminating Boston in Game 5 last Wednesday.

Toronto, which used only seven players on Sunday, will not practice for a day, giving players some extra rest.

They may need it to derail the surging Bucks.

Meanwhile in Denver, Colorado, CJ McCollum scored 37 points and Portland overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to beat Denver in Game 7 and reach the Western Conference final for the first time since 2000.

Evan Turner, who scored just 4 points in the first six games of the series, added 14 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers advanced to face the two-time defending NBA champions Golden State Warriors, beginning on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning China time) in Oakland, California.

McCollum's big game was necessary because Damian Lillard made just 3 of 17 shots for 13 points, although two of them were crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Nikola Jokic led Denver with 29 points, but missed 15 shots.