Toronto Raptors

Mallory Edens just dropped the best Drake shade since "The Story of Adidon." 

The daughter of Bucks owner Wes Edens was seated next to Aaron Rodgers for Thursday night's Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Raptors in Milwaukee and wearing a Pusha T shirt.

Petty wars 😂

The daughter of the Milwaukee Bucks owner is sitting courtside wearing a Pusha T shirt. pic.twitter.com/yP2uZILKER

— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) May 24, 2019

Fiserv Forum also played Pusha T's music throughout the arena during pregame action, clearly choosing a side in a longstanding beef between the two rappers.

Not that we had any question which way they were leaning.

Drake, the Degrassi actor turned rapper turned global pop icon turned world's most boisterous Raptors fanboy/global ambassador, spent the previous two games in Toronto digging his OVO claws deep into the skin of the Bucks. When, of course, he was not using them to gently caress the shoulders of Raptors coach Nick Nurse.

Drake's antics on the sideline became a show unto themselves in Games 3 and 4, clearly frustrating the Bucks and drawing criticism from coach Mike Budenholzer, who told reporters:

"I see it in some timeouts, but I don't know of any person that's attending the game that isn't a participant in the game, a coach—I'm sorry, a player or a coach, that has access to the court. I don't know how much he's on the court. It sounds like you guys are saying it's more than I realize. There's certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors. You know, to be on the court, there's boundaries and lines for a reason, and like I said, the league is usually pretty good at being on top of stuff like that."

Drake responded after the Raptors' 105-99 victory Thursday night with a post on Instagram featuring the following: a picture of him celebrating the win, a crying face emoji, a salt shaker emoji and a shrug emoji.

For those who are bad at deciphering emoji language: Drake is saying the Bucks are just being whiny and salty because they've now lost three in a row, and he will likely continue his sideline trollery.

In fact, Drake even took things one step further after the game and changed his Instagram profile pic to Edens:

Drake wants all the smoke 🤭 pic.twitter.com/BZArq9rP2V

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 24, 2019

Mallory Edens took her shot on behalf of the Bucks on Thursday. Much like Pusha T, she sent an efficient message in as few words as possible, even if it didn't help her team's cause. 

Surgical summer, indeed. 

The NBA Eastern Conference Finals are now a best-of-three series with all eyes on stars Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But there is one forgotten star in this series: Kyle Lowry.

Watch the video above to find out why Howard Beck says Lowry is rewriting his playoff history against the Bucks.

   

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Drake was one of the most emotional fans in Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday as his Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-102 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to knot the series at two games apiece. 

Not everyone took kindly to his actions, and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said as much after the game:

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer didn't hold back his feelings for Drake's actions in Game 4. pic.twitter.com/tReilGxdfy

— ESPN (@espn) May 22, 2019

Drake fired a response by posting Instagram pictures of him cheering the team and providing encouragement to backup guard Fred VanVleet.

He also liked a comment from an Instagram user on a post that showcased Budenholzer's displeasure with Drake's actions:

Drake is fed up with Mike Budenholzer being fed up with his antics

(via @Drake) pic.twitter.com/uBnZrUl8h2

— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 23, 2019

Drake has become the ninth man in his team's rotation, equally capable of giving head coach Nick Nurse a quick massage or riling up nearly 20,000 people when Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is at the free-throw line:

Drake stays clowning Giannis at the free throw line 💀 https://t.co/W4iiGg7nMi

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2019

Nobody:

Drake at Raptors games: https://t.co/ZKFv5EEQ5b

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2019

Celebrity superfans crossing the line and becoming part of the action isn't new. Notably, New York Knicks fan Spike Lee got into it with Indiana Pacers shooting guard Reggie Miller during the 1994 and 1995 playoffs.

Regardless of which side you might take, this certainly adds more juice and entertainment to a hotly contested series.

The Toronto Raptors have momentum on their side after two straight wins over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, but point guard Kyle Lowry is less than 100 percent heading into Thursday’s Game 5.

According to Malika Andrews of ESPN, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said: "Kyle’s hand is not great. ... It’s hurt, and it’s sore, and it causes him a lot of pain."

Raptors fans can at least take solace knowing Nurse said Kawhi Leonard felt "good" after playing with an apparent limp at times in this series.

The hand may be an issue for Lowry, but he has played well for much of this series.

He is shooting 48.4 percent from three-point range against the Bucks and has consistently taken advantage of the openings created by the additional defensive attention Leonard and Pascal Siakam draw. He shined in Game 4 with 25 points, six assists and five rebounds and poured in 30 points in a Game 1 loss.

Lowry’s impressive play has been a welcome development for the Raptors seeing how his overall playoff resume needed some work entering this postseason.

He advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals just once prior to this year and shot a mere 39.7 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from deep in those 2016 playoffs. What’s more, his regular-season PER is 18.4 compared to just 15.7 in the playoffs, per Basketball Reference.

However, battling through an injury against the Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon and George Hill point guard trio and helping lead the Raptors to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history would be an ideal way for Lowry to change his playoff narrative.

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer wasn't happy with the wide berth afforded to Drake on the sideline during the Toronto Raptors' 120-102 Game 4 win on Tuesday. 

"I don't know of any person attending the game that isn't a player or coach that has access to the court," Budenholzer told reporters Wednesday. "I don't know how much he's on the court. It sounds like you guys are saying a lot.

"There's certainly no place for fans—or whatever exactly is what Drake is for the Raptors—on the court. There's boundaries and lines for a reason. The league is pretty good about that."

In the last two Eastern Conference Finals games in Toronto, Drake has hounded Giannis Antetokounmpo at every opportunity.

The music star went a step further Tuesday, walking over to Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and briefly rubbing his shoulders during a break in play in the fourth quarter.

Drake probably won't be able to get away with that when the series moves to Milwaukee on Thursday—if he even attends Game 5 at all. He will have at least one more opportunity to pester Antetokounmpo since Toronto's victory ensured it will host the Bucks in Game 6 on Saturday.

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that wing OG Anunoby has no timetable to return from an emergency appendectomy that has sidelined the 21-year-old for the entire postseason.

Anunoby averaged 7.0 points on 45.3 percent shooting and 2.9 rebounds per game in his second NBA season. He primarily came off the bench and averaged 20.2 minutes per contest.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Anunoby had the procedure done on Apr. 12 and was initially expected to miss two weeks.

Unfortunately, the timeline has taken longer than initially expected, and Nurse's comments Wednesday suggest Anunoby could be out for the entire playoffs even if the Raps extend their season with an NBA Finals appearance.

The news is tough for the Raptors to take after Nurse relayed to reporters on May 14 that Anunoby had started doing some on-court work and was a week away from getting to the point where he looked like he was close to coming back for good, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.

At the very least, there is a silver lining: Michael Grange of Sportsnet relayed on Wednesday that Nurse said Anunoby has been a bit more active on a daily basis.

Toronto could use Anunoby's presence if only for added depth on a bench that has been hit or miss in the playoffs. Of note, the Raptors' reserves combined for just 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting in 40 minutes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Milwaukee Bucks. However, they bounced back to pour in 48 points on Thursday.

Unfortunately, time has likely run out on Anunoby being ready for any Eastern Conference Finals game versus the Bucks. Game 5 of the seven-game series takes place on Thursday, and Game 7 (if necessary) is slated for Monday. The NBA Finals also seem like a long shot, as they begin Thursday, May 30.

The Raptors and Bucks are tied two games apiece. An Eastern Conference Finals win would send Toronto to its first NBA Finals in franchise history. The two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors await the East winner.

In the context of the NBA's most cited postseason adages, the Toronto Raptors' 120-102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night doesn't warrant material reactions.

It was Game 4. The series is tied 2-2. The Raptors won both games at home. They did what they were supposed to do. A playoff series does not start until the road team wins, which it has yet to do in these Eastern Conference Finals.

Yada, yada, yada.

And yet, playoff proverbs in mind, this Raptors win does mean more than the typical victory.

Not only were they in must-have territory, facing an insurmountable 3-1 deficit, but they were playing with a visibly hobbled Kawhi Leonard. He tweaked his left leg early in Game 3, and although he went on to log more than 52 minutes in a double-overtime win, the effects stuck with him through Tuesday night:

https://twitter.com/DaveDuFourNBA/status/1131016243442606080

"We were concerned," Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said after Game 4, per The Athletic's Blake Murphy. "I think he's fine."

Concerned, but not panicked. Fine, but not great. These remain good lines to toe following Leonard's performance. 

He finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks on a tidy 6-of-13 shooting. He wasn't reaching the rim at will, but that's been the story for this entire series. He continued chasing around Giannis Antetokounmpo and defended his tail off in the half-court.

He dunked on the MVP favorite, too:

Giannis should've gotten out of Kawhi's way 🤭 https://t.co/dK3vwC3rBU

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2019

Still, it quickly became clear that Leonard's grit and smarts and will were substitutes for his dominance. He wasn't heavily involved in the offense to start. He didn't make his first shot until roughly halfway through the first quarter, and his first rest of the game came shortly thereafter—far earlier than usual.

Leonard didn't look as explosive on either of his two dunks or when trying to create space off the ball. His one-on-one attacks felt slower—not deliberately more methodical, but involuntarily gradual. 

That he still cobbled together an essential performance deserves to be commended. He is the Raptors' championship hopes personified, and he did not disappoint. He thrived amid strategic conservation; a lower-key offensive role and brief respites from Antetokounmpo on defense allowed him to both stand out and bypass his usual exhaustive volume.

But these calculated concessions don't pan out—or persist for the entire game—if his teammates cannot lift him up. 

They did.

kawhi carried everyone in game 3, everyone returned the favor in game 4. you love to see it.

— William Lou (@william_lou) May 22, 2019

That wasn't a given. Toronto's supporting cast has remained a visceral inconstant for much of the playoffs. Pascal Siakam has been Leonard's most reliable running mate, with the occasional detonation from Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka or, much less often, Marc Gasol peppered in. 

Very rarely, though, has Leonard's aid come from numerous sources all at once. The Raptors backups were being outscored by 2.4 points per 100 possessions entering Tuesday night, which ranked 10th among all 16 playoff teams. Gasol, Lowry and Danny Green were shooting a combined 40.3 percent (35.4 percent from downtown).

Lowry, to his credit, has found his groove. His 25 points, six assists and all-out defense in Game 4 were an accurate view of all he's done against the Bucks. He's now averaging 20.3 points and shooting 48.4 percent from distance on nearly eight deep attempts per game for the series:

Kyle Lowry against the Bucks: 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 72.7% true shooting

Kyrie Irving against the Bucks: 20.4 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 assists on 44.7% true shooting

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) May 22, 2019

But his uptick has changed only so much. Nearly everyone else around Leonard has remained a nightly mystery. Figuring out where his help will come from and whether it will be enough has turned into a postseason rite of passage. 

Support for Leonard came in droves, from all over, on Tuesday. He didn't just have Lowry instead of Siakam. He had Gasol, who dropped 17 points and seven assists on minimal hesitation to go along with five rebounds and two blocks.

He had Norman Powell, who offset his extra-thirsty shot selection (4-of-13 from three) with his energy on the glass and at the defensive end. His offensive persistence—at times excessive—helped, as well. He hit a couple of big treys en route to tallying 18 points and a game-high plus-29.

Leonard also had Serge Ibaka, who was exceptional on the glass (13 rebounds) and shot 7-of-9 inside the arc, including 3-of-3 from mid-range. Leonard even got a vintage game from Fred VanVleet. He poured in 13 points and six assists, helped stifle Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon and George Hill on defense and was pivotal to the Raptors holding their ground during an opening fourth-quarter stretch in which both Leonard and Lowry were catching breathers:

See, the thing about Fred VanVleet is he's not just some fringe NBA player you bench when he's missing shots. He was one of the league's most valuable reserves last season (3rd in 6th Man voting) and has earned the benefit of the doubt. Trust paying off tonight.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 22, 2019

Some of these good vibes won't last. Stars and role players alike tend to fare better at home, which is where the Bucks are headed. They will punch back.

Credit the Raptors' hard double-teams for forcing the ball out of Antetokounmpo's hands and coaxing him into an uncharacteristically mortal 14-of-33 shooting over the past two games, but he will explode again. Ultra-aggressive Gasol may play Brook Lopez off the court, but Bledsoe, Brogdon and Hill won't combine for a 5-of-20 clip every night.

Toronto's non-stars will likewise get worse. Ibaka, Powell and VanVleet won't combine for nearly 50 points every night. Lowry is a hustle-plays machine, but he and Gasol have ambled in and out of scoring consciousness.

More importantly, Toronto cannot hope to get by with a banged-up Leonard if it cracks the NBA Finals. 

The Raptors have the depth and ancillary star power to squeak past a Bucks team with which they're evenly matched on the margins. But in a prospective showdown with the Golden State Warriors, they would need Leonard to be Leonard. Nothing less or in between would suffice.

That's a matter for another day, and the Raptors would welcome it if they get that far. And they have enough to get that far.

With or without Leonard making a full recovery from his ailing leg, they have enough. 

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference or Cleaning the Glass. Salary and cap-hold information via Basketball Insiders and RealGM.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by B/R's Andrew Bailey.

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LA Times Lakers beat reporter Tania Gangulia joins Howard Beck on the Full 48 podcast to discuss the Lakers ongoing dysfunction. 

In 2012, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were San Antonio Spurs and Serge Ibaka was an Oklahoma City Thunder when OKC mounted a comeback from a 2-0 deficit to make the NBA Finals.

Seven years later, they're teammates with the Toronto Raptors and faced a similar 2-0 deficit heading into Sunday's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

So, knowing his teammates needed a boost, Ibaka decded to tell his teammates of how the Thunder battled back against the Spurs.

"It feels like s--t," Ibaka said, per Seerat Sohi of Yahoo Sports. "I felt like we needed to hear something to give us belief, to know it's not late, it's not over yet.

"When something like that happens, it's you against the world. All you have to do is stick together and give everything. The guys did it tonight."

It's unclear whether the story worked, but the Raptors fought valiantly in a 118-112 double overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks to make the series 2-1. 

Not that Leonard or Green especially loved having old wounds reopened.

"Me and Danny [Green] were playing on the Spurs, so we really didn't like that," Leonard joked.

The Raptors are still clear underdogs heading into Game 4 in Toronto. They needed two overtimes to get a win in a game where Giannis Antetokounmpo had by far his worst performance of the postseason. But Leonard, Green and Ibaka all know first-hand that it's a job that can get done under the right (or wrong) circumstances. 

Kawhi Leonard said Sunday he has no concerns about his leg injury after playing a career-high 52 minutes in the Toronto Raptors' 118-112 double overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I'm good," Leonard told reporters. "I'm just going to keep fighting. I'm going to be playing."

Leonard appeared to be bothered by injuries to both of his legs during the game. The more concerning of the two injuries came in the first quarter when he came down awkwardly following a dunk and hurt his left leg. He later seemed to be favoring his right leg after a dunk in the second overtime. 

"It's 52 minutes, and it's the playoffs, so you definitely feel it," Leonard said of his extended playing time. "When you play 30 minutes, you feel it still. Just got to not worry about it and get my treatment and move on to the next one."

Leonard had 36 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the way for Toronto. It was his fourth straight game of 30 or more points and his 10th of this postseason. He is just the 15th player in NBA history to record at least 10 games of 30-plus points in the same playoffs.

"He loves this game of basketball," Kyle Lowry told ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "That's what that was. He loves basketball. To play hurt, play through anything to get wins, that's what that proved tonight."

Leonard was also instrumental on the defensive end, holding Giannis Antetokounmpo to just two points on 1-of-9 shooting during Game 3. The Raptors had largely kept Leonard off Antetokounmpo in the first two games of the series to preserve his energy.

Kawhi has shouldered the heaviest load of any player during these playoffs and has stepped up on every occasion. With only a day of rest between games in the conference finals, though, it's possible carrying the weight of the franchise on his shoulders is starting to take its toll. 

With just over three minutes left in the second overtime of Sunday's Game 3 between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors, Kawhi Leonard picked up a loose ball, went coast to coast and took off for a lefty slam from well outside the restricted area. Toronto's Scotiabank Arena erupted, the Raptors went up 108-105 and Kawhi grimaced on his way back to the bench:

KAWHI CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF ✈️ https://t.co/8BUx7kSRZS

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 20, 2019

Leonard's final stat line in the 118-112 victory? Over a whopping 52 minutes, he scored 36 points, hit 12 of his 13 free throws, grabbed nine boards, handed out five assists, swiped two steals and blocked a shot. He was plus-10 in a game the Raptors won by six.

All that after he suffered an apparent leg injury early in the first quarter, hence the grimace in double-overtime. All that after 37.7 minutes and 31.7 points per game in 14 previous postseason outings. All that amid constant speculation about his impending free agency.

With his team on the verge of a three-game deficit, Kawhi blocked everything out and just hooped. In the fourth quarter and two overtimes alone, Leonard had 19 points, three boards and two steals on 6-of-12 shooting.

"When it's winning time, Kawhi shows up," The Athletic's Dave DuFour tweeted. "That dude is a killer."

And he does it on both ends. Shortly after the slam described above, Kawhi jumped a passing lane, stole the rock from Khris Middleton and threw it down again:

KAWHI STEAL AND SLAM 🔨#WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/sFidYbPVWa

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 20, 2019

"First of all, his defense was probably the biggest key of the game," Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told reporters. "Not only did he just play good, but he made some huge plays with some steals and ripaways and breakaways that were, you know, offense was hard to come by there for both teams for a while, and anytime you can get a steal and a breakout, it's like, a huge momentum play."

On top of the huge individual plays, Leonard was a critical part of stopping—or at least slowing down—Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was matched up with him directly on several possessions, and his Raptors teammates were consistently ready to form the kinds of walls that would make Stan Van Gundy proud every time Giannis ventured inside the three-point line.

Together, they made every attempt difficult. Several even hurt the MVP finalist.

With 7:14 left in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Marc Gasol fouled Antetokounmpo under the rim. Before he attempted his free throws, Giannis stood for a few seconds near halfcourt, hunched over with his hands on his knees.

The Raptors took something out of one of the game's greatest players, holding him to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting. A player who often seems invincible looked tired. And Toronto, despite needing two overtimes, took some momentum back in the process.

With a chance to tie the series looming Tuesday, Leonard finally got a little help. If Gasol and Pascal Siakam can repeat what they gave on Sunday, and Kyle Lowry—who was plus-15 before he fouled out—can recapture the magic he had in Game 1, Toronto has a good chance to tie this series up at two games apiece before it heads back to Milwaukee. 

After going a combined 3-of-20 in the first two games, Gasol told the NBA on TNT crew he'd felt sick over his performance for the last 48 hours. His 16 points, 12 boards, seven assists and five blocks on 5-of-10 shooting should be good medicine.

Siakam bounced back, as well. He went 10-of-29 in Milwaukee, but he had 25 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a block while shooting 9-of-18 from the field Sunday night. 

What has to be scary for the Raptors, though, is that it took all of this to squeak out a double-overtime victory at home. If Gasol or Siakam isn't quite this good, or if Giannis breaks through on a couple more drives, the Bucks have a commanding 3-0 lead.

Toronto will have to be at least this effective for three of the next five games to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Raptors, however, have been able to count on Kawhi this entire postseason. Injuries, fatigue, rumors? It doesn't matter what's surrounding him. He's been a machine since this playoff run began.

After Sunday's game, Leonard's postseason averages stand at 32.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.2 threes and 1.3 steals. Whether he's hampered or not, the Raptors are going to need every bit of that production to upset the Bucks.

"I think he's OK," Nurse said when asked about his star player's health. "That was a lot of minutes, but I think he's OK."