The opening minutes of Game 5 between the Raptors and Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals went as we expected. Milwaukee roared out to a lead, the crowd was going wild, and the Raptors were shrinking from the moment. Turnovers, clanged shots, fouls against — the whole ordeal. Basketball is indeed a game of runs, but it felt like Toronto was merely staving off the inevitable. The Bucks hadn’t lost three games all year, and we were watching how exactly they had managed that feat.
Except approximately 45 minutes of game time later, when the final buzzer sounded on that same Game 5 in Milwaukee, it was the Raptors who were on top.