Raptors thrash Warriors to go 2-1 up in the NBA Finals

For every amazing shot in a career night by Stephen Curry on his home court, Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Danny Green kept finding dazzling answers of their own. The Toronto Raptors have the momentum again in these back-and-forth NBA Finals.

Leonard scored 30 points on a night Curry went off for a playoff-best 47, and the Raptors beat the banged-up Golden State Warriors 123-109 on Wednesday for a 2-1 series lead.

Curry also had eight rebounds and seven assists but couldn’t do it all for the two-time defending champions, down starters Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and key backup big man Kevon Looney because of injuries.

Splash Brother Thompson missed his first career playoff game after straining his left hamstring late in Game 2, while Looney is out the rest of the series after a cartilage fracture on his right side near the collarbone that also happened Sunday. 

Durant, a two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP, has been sidelined nearly a month because of a strained right calf. Game 4 is Friday at Oracle Arena, where Warriors fans will be rooting for the returns of Durant and Thompson.

Lowry contributed 23 with five 3-pointers and Green had 18 points with six 3s after Pascal Siakam got the Raptors rolling early. The Warriors trailed 96-83 going into the final quarter. Curry’s three free throws at 10:37 made it a seven-point game before back-to-back baskets by Serge Ibaka.

Siakam scored 18 points and established the momentum for Toronto from the tip, hitting his first three shots and setting a tone for a defensive effort that stayed solid without the foul problems that plagued the Raptors in Game 2.

The Warriors hosted a Game 3 in the finals for the first time since winning the 1975 title, having begun at home in each of the previous four.