Kawhi Leonard After Game 3: “I’m Confident in Myself”

Finally, the Toronto Raptors managed to defeat Milwaukee Bucks. To reach the first win in the Eastern Conference finals, the guys from Canada needed to go through two OTs and to have a superb Kawhi Leonard in the additional minutes.

The Claw dropped 36 points, and eight of them were in the second overtime when it mattered the most.

“I’m confident in myself; my teammates are confident in me, and I just go out there and play,” said Kawhi during the on-court interview.

Apart from scoring Leonard had a huge impact on the game in other aspects. He missed just one of his 13 free throws, had 9 boards, 5 dimes and played very good defense. His versatility and stubbornness were setting the tone on the floor, especially in the overtimes. When speaking about defense, Giannis felt today what is like to have a Claw upon himself.

"This is playoff basketball…"

Kawhi recaps the @Raptors 2OT win!#WeTheNorth #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/MT16navIHI

— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2019

The Greek Freak posted a tremendous 23 boards, but scored just 12 points, shooting 5 of 16 from the field. But not only that, Giannis had 8 turnovers.

“His defense was the biggest key of the game,” Nick Nurse said about Leonard’s contribution after the match.

The intensity, the fight, the thrill, everything was on its peak at the Scotiabank Arena last night.

But unlike the previous game when Bucks dominated, this time the Raptors were the ones who were leading throughout the contest. They had a chance to win in the regulations but failed to use that.

Pascal Siakam missed both of his free throws with some seven seconds to go, and the teams had to go to overtime. And when most of the players started battling with fatigue, Leonard shifted into a higher gear and just kept pounding.

He played 52 minutes of basketball, his personal high in the postseason. Most of the fans were concerned because of that. Kawhi had a season in which he often skipped games to rest his body. Well, it seems that all that kept his strength and energy for the essential part of the campaign.

“I’m feeling alright. This is playoff basketball; everybody’s hurt,” Leonard explained after the game.

#WeTheNorth @kawhileonard scores 19 of his 36 PTS in the 4th/OT's, guiding the @Raptors (1-2) to the double OT win in Game 3! #NBAPlayoffs

Game 4: Tuesday (5/21), 8:30pm/et, TNT pic.twitter.com/MqBvc3QT8S

— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2019

Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, and Giannis combined 11 field goals made last night, in 48 shots. When we add that other two starters, Mirotic and Lopez had 8 of 21 you could get the picture how Toronto played defensively. The guests’ starters scored 58 points, and two players off the bench, Hill, and Brogdon combined for 44.

That is what Nurse emphasized after the game, saying that his team looked much stronger and aggressive on the floor, which eventually gave the result.

“We just played a lot tougher, man,” Nurse said. “We were up guarding, and we were physical, and we were ready to play tonight.”

Mike Budenholzer confirmed the same. The finalist for the Coach of the Year award stated that his team, especially Giannis, will have to play differently in the next clash.

“He might play with more force,” said Bucks coach.

One of the main reasons for all that was Marc Gasol. He was excellent. Not only did he post a double-double with 16 points and 12 boards, but attacked the guests from various positions. The Spanish veteran spent 45 minutes in the game, many of them with five fouls. He reached that limit in the fourth period and went through overtimes without fouling out.

Marc Gasol sets up the offense for your Heads Up Play of the Day! pic.twitter.com/EJ8vnITq6c

— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 20, 2019

It will be much tougher for Lopez and Middleton to play if they feel pressure on the defensive side of the ball. Gasol knows to be very productive, and if he continues to deliver 16, 17 points per night, it will be very hard for the Bucks to win.

Game 4 might be the decisive one for the series. Many of the experts were saying before it even started, that the teams will protect their homecourts. If by any chance Bucks get this one, we might see the East finals ending in 5 games.

If otherwise, Game 7 is almost certain.

As for Game 4, it’s on this Tuesday. The tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. local time.