It sounds like Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr likes playing in Toronto.
Prior to Golden State's matchup with the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, Kerr said that Scotiabank Arena, where the Raptors play their home games, is one of his two favourite arenas in the NBA. The other? Oracle Arena, where the Warriors used to play their home games.
"Oracle and whatever bank is sponsoring this arena now, were two of my favourite arenas because there was always this buzz pre-game," Kerr said, according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg. "You could just feel it... So when we played here in the Finals, just with the stakes, it was incredible."
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Kerr was, of course, referring to the 2019 NBA Finals, when the Raptors defeated the Warriors to win their first championship in franchise history. Three of the six games played in the series took place at Scotiabank Arena — Games 1, 2 and 5.
Game 5 was particularly exciting, as Stephen Curry (31 points) and Klay Thompson (26 points) led the Warriors to a one-point victory to keep the series alive.
Relive GAME 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals!
— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) April 12, 2020
Warriors - 106
Raptors - 105#RapsRewind pic.twitter.com/rCal7r4GrX
The series shifted to Oracle Arena for Game 6. It was another close game — the Raptors defeated the Warriors 114-110 to take home the title.
The Warriors were short-handed when the two teams met on Saturday, with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins each being sidelined. The Raptors cruised to a 119-100 victory behind a near triple-double from Fred VanVleet (27 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds) and an all-around performance from Scottie Barnes (21 points, eight rebounds and six assists).
In the first start of his career, Jonathan Kuminga scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Warriors.
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