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Leonard, Raptors move within win of first championship

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard’s hot hand is sending the Raptors home to Toronto on the cusp of a startling upset for Canada.

Leonard outdueled the Splash Brothers for 36 points and 12 rebounds, and the Raptors moved within a victory of the franchise’s first championship by winning a second straight game on Golden State’s home floor, beating the Warriors 105-92 on Friday for a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Not that the Raptors are ready to celebrate yet.

“We’ve won three games, it’s the first to four,” Kyle Lowry said. “We understand that they’re the defending champs and they’re not going to go out easy. They’re going to come and fight and prepare to play the next game. That’s how we’re preparing ourselves. We’ve got to prepare ourselves to play the next game. We haven’t done anything yet.”

Klay Thompson made a strong return after missing Game 3 with a strained left hamstring and scored 28 points with six 3-pointers in what might have been the final game after 47 seasons at Oracle Arena before the team’s move to new Chase Center in San Francisco next season. Stephen Curry added 27 points but shot just 9-for-22 and 2-of-9 from 3-point range on the heels of his postseason career-best 47-point outing in a 123-109 Game 3 defeat.

Serge Ibaka scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench for the composed and confident Raptors, who for a second straight game found an answer to every Warriors threat at raucous Oracle — where home fans were stunned and silenced when the final buzzer sounded.

A huge section of Toronto fans then broke into singing “O Canada!”

“It’s awesome,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “Our fans travel really well in the regular season. We get this a lot on the road. It’s really amazing. It’s Canada’s team, and Canadians from all over the country are traveling down and making plans when we play in Florida or California or Detroit especially.”

The two-time defending champions’ quest for a three-peat is suddenly in serious jeopardy.

Toronto will take its first try at the title in Game 5 on Monday back at Scotiabank Arena. Golden State, still hopeful of injured star Kevin Durant’s return, will try to force one more at Oracle next Thursday.

“It’s not over. It’s not a good feeling right now, obviously,” Curry said. “We’ve been on both sides of it and for us it’s an opportunity to flip this whole series on its head.”

Leonard knocked down two jumpers in the final 42 seconds of the third to put the Raptors up 79-64. Fred VanVleet then dealt another dagger on the first possession of the fourth with a 30-footer.

A bloodied VanVleet then went to the locker room with 9:35 left after being hit in the face by Shaun Livingston’s left elbow when the Warriors guard went up for a shot and VanVleet was just behind him. Replays showed a tooth in the middle of the key even after play resumed.

These poised Raptors kept level heads again after falling behind by 11 points in the first half. Pascal Siakam scored 19 for Toronto, which outscored Golden State 37-21 in the decisive third.

TORONTO (105)

Leonard 11-22 9-9 36, Siakam 6-14 7-8 19, Gasol 3-8 2-2 9, Lowry 3-12 4-4 10, Da.Green 1-8 0-0 3, Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Ibaka 9-12 1-1 20, VanVleet 3-9 0-0 8, McCaw 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-86 23-24 105.

GOLDEN STATE (92)

Iguodala 1-6 1-2 3, Dr.Green 3-6 4-4 10, Cousins 3-6 0-1 6, Curry 9-22 7-8 27, Thompson 11-18 0-0 28, McKinnie 1-4 0-2 2, Looney 5-8 0-2 10, Bogut 0-0 0-0 0, Livingston 2-3 2-2 6, Cook 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 35-78 14-21 92.

Toronto 17 25 37 26 — 105

Golden State 23 23 21 25 — 92

3-Point Goals–Toronto 10-32 (Leonard 5-9, VanVleet 2-5, Ibaka 1-1, Gasol 1-4, Da.Green 1-7, Siakam 0-2, Lowry 0-4), Golden State 8-27 (Thompson 6-10, Curry 2-9, Dr.Green 0-1, McKinnie 0-1, Iguodala 0-3, Cook 0-3). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Toronto 38 (Leonard 12), Golden State 42 (Dr.Green 9). Assists–Toronto 22 (Lowry 7), Golden State 26 (Dr.Green 12). Total Fouls–Toronto 21, Golden State 23. Technicals–Dr.Green. A–19,596 (19,596).

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NBA FINALS

All times HST • All games on ABC

Friday’s Result

Toronto 105, Golden State 92, Toronto leads series 3-1

Monday’s Game

Golden State at Toronto, 3 p.m.

Thursday’s Game

Toronto at Golden State, 3 p.m., if necessary

Sunday, June 16

Golden State at Toronto, 2 p.m., if necessary

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