The NBA treated us with 2 mind-blowing games (impossible endings). Rui stunned the entire country of Canada, but what happened in Philly exceeded my wildest imagination. If that’s not chaotic, I don’t know what is. But let’s rewind and see exactly how we got there. In Toronto, the Lakers were facing the Raptors without Luka Doncic who’s currently in Slovenia for the birth of his 2nd child. No Luka, no problem, they got another white boy wonder. AR stepped into the playmaking role ever so smoothly, and with 14 points and 7 assists led the Lakers to a 9 point lead in the 1st half. On the contrary, LeBron continued his struggles. After a miserable performance in the blowout loss against the Suns in which he only cared about the 10+ scoring streak, James couldn’t find his rhythm in this one as well. He opened the game missing his first 6 shots from the field. Going to the break, he only had 4 points, putting his prominent streak in danger once again. So, the Raptors led by Scottie Barnes ignited a comeback in the 3rd quarter. With 9 straight points, Scottie cut the deficit down to a single possession. And a couple of minutes later, Toronto jumped in front for the 1st time in the game. Feeling the momentum drifting away, Austin decided to take matters into his own hands. Look at AR channeling his inner Doncic with the bomb from way downtown. And he got the circus shots in his little pocket as well. C’MON NOW! What kind of shot is this!? This is ridiculous and-1. Reaves put the Lakers on his back and with 22 points in the period, 9 of which came from the free throw line, kept the slight edge going. So, in the 4th quarter, Ingram was like “I have a few tricks up my sleeve too”! BI along with Jamison Battle out of all people sparked a minirun to put the Raptors back in front. And Jamison continued stinging the Lakers with 8 of his 10 points in the final period. Toronto held a 2 point lead in the clutch as AR finally ran out of missiles. But, LA was lucky to dodge not 1 but 2 bullets on the other side, as both Mamu and Jamal Shead of the offensive rebound failed to hit their 3 point attempts. So, LeBron doesn’t waste any time to strike back. Then, the Raptors seem to have lost track of time because… Feeling confident he can hit the 10 point mark and put LA in front, James goes at Barnes on the other end. Scottie says nope, not in my house! With the entire arena on its feet now, Ingram goes for the lead. Brandon swishes the wide open free throw shot and the crowd’s loving it. But watch what happens next, as LeBron exits the court to sit on the bench, and both Laravia and Ayton are dragging like it’s a timeout. But no, there’s no whistle, and Austin uses that to attack the crack in the Raptors defense all by himself. I was shocked as the commentators were. That was sneaky! And back at is BI who’s been clutch all season. Ingram can’t get it over Ayton as we’re going back and forth for 2 and a half minutes without a timeout nor a single whistle. Playground style baby, it’s winning time! Oh my goodness! Rui Hachimura wins the game at the buzzer on the assist by LeBron James! After all the criticism he got in the last game, the King made the right play for the 1000th time in his career to find the open shooter. And he actually told Rui before the play. That’s incredible to be honest. And here’s LeBron’s reaction to the end of his streak that lasted for 18 years. That’s the spirit! Nerds on Reddit have put up the next streak in line of 8+ points, dating back to 2004. I’m eager to find out for how long he’s going to keep that one going. I’m joking obviously.
