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Stephen Curry Calls Drake to Congratulate Him on Toronto Raptors Victory {VIDEO}
Two people were shot at a rally following the Raptors' championship parade in Toronto on Monday.
As police told the Daily Mail, both victims sustained serious, but not life-threatening injuries.
Two suspects have been arrested and two firearms were recovered, according to police.
Authorities have not announced any of the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred just as the Raptors players and coach Nick Nurse were wrapping up their speeches at the rally in Nathan Phillips Square. One official took the microphone and asked that onlookers remain calm.
'We have no incidents currently underway,' said Toronto police spokesperson Allison Sparkes. 'Crowds are dispersing.'
Asked if it was a targeted shooting or terrorism-related, Sparkes said the investigation was underway.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Toronto Mayor John Tory, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the Raptors players remained on stage while the ceremony was briefly interrupted.
While hundreds, or even thousands of fans fled in terror, most the of people packing the 12-acre Nathan Phillips Square did not seem to react to the gunshots.
The final speeches actually went on as planned following the incident.
The day had been peaceful, with as many as two million spectators packing the streets of Toronto to celebrate the Raptors' six-game NBA Finals win over the Golden State Warriors. The festivities began at 10am and ended with the rally at Nathan Phillips Square at 12:30.
It was there, at Bay St. and Albert St., that the shots were fired, prompting thousands of fans to flee the scene in terror.
Police quickly located both victims and took two people into custody. Two firearms were found, and the Toronto Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
A parade spectator named Gelek Besthairtsang had been filming the rally from above Nathan Phillips Square when he noticed a surge of people running away from the crowd.
'[People] have been running from the back of the stage for some reason,' he tweeted. 'hope everyone's safe.'
Mike Mudidi said he was enjoying the celebrations when he heard screams behind him that someone had pulled out a gun. He said he froze as people started running in all directions.
'I just grabbed my buddies' hands and ran,' he said, noting he was startled but otherwise OK.
Raptors fan Eleanor Simmons described the scene to Vice.
'People were trying to get into buildings but they couldn't because of all the revolving doors and smashing into each other.' Everyone started lining up in an organized way to get through the doors, one at a time. It worked and people were able to get inside.
'I've never felt like I was going to get shot before. It's not something I know how to process. I've never been so scared in my life.'
First responders attend to an injured person after shots were fired during the Toronto Raptors NBA basketball championship victory celebration near Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto
Two suspects have been arrested and two firearms were recovered, according to police. Police have not announced any of the circumstances surrounding the incident
Even while Justin Trudeau celebrate the Raptors' NBA title on stage, thousands in Nathan Phillips Square still trying to figure out what had just occurred. Ultimately police announced that two people were shot, and two more were taken into custody
Police barricade the street as first responders arrive after shots were fired during the Toronto Raptors NBA basketball championship victory celebration near Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto
While hundreds, or even thousands of fans fled in terror, most the of people packing the 12-acre Nathan Phillips Square did not seem to react to the gunshots. In fact, the final speeches at the Raptors' rally went on as planned following the incident
The crowd, estimated to be up to two million by Mike Bartlett, head of community affairs and events with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, is remarkable considering that Toronto has a population of 2.93 million, although the greater-Toronto area population is closer to 6 million.
The procession began with Raptors guard Kyle Lowry holding the Larry O'Brien trophy atop one of five double-decker buses while Kawhi Leonard enjoyed a cigar with his NBA Finals MVP trophy in the back of another.
Leonard, a New Balance spokesman, was wearing a shirt from the apparel company that reads, 'Board Man Gets Paid,' which is a reference to his famously even-keeled demeanor. The Raptors forward will be a free agent this summer, and some have speculated he could sign with the Clippers in his native Los Angeles or even the Brooklyn Nets.
At one point Leonard's three-year-old daughter Kaliyah could be seen napping in the top of one of the buses alongside the former San Diego State star and his girlfriend, the girl's mother, Kishele Shipley.
Naturally, Toronto native and Raptors 'global ambassador' Drake was along for the ride, and was seen partying with Leonard and his mother.
Perhaps more surprisingly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even joined the parade, albeit briefly.
Trudeau was seen slapping fives with fans and interacting with players before the shooting. It's not quite clear what his proximity to the square was at the time of the incident.
Streets were closed off to accommodate the convoy carrying the Raptors, and three subway stations were also closed due to overcrowding on the street level. Enthusiastic fans festooned the streets of Toronto wearing red, purple, black and white.
A few fans climbed atop of bus stops and the arches of Nathan Phillips Square, but were asked by police to come down.
As crowds swelled along the streets, several people were put on stretchers due to dehydration. Dancers, security guards and the organizers were seen handing out water to the fans, who continued to throng streets leading up to the square.
The Snowbirds, an aerobatic flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Forces, soared over the skies of Toronto to join the festivities.
Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, left to right, smokes a cigar holding his playoffs MVP trophy as he celebrates with rapper Drake. Leonard's mother Kim Robertson is pictured, right
Raptors fans were encouraged Kawhi Leonard to re-sign with the team after winning a title in his first season in Toronto
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry holds the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy on Monday
Kawhi Leonard and his girlfriend Kishele Shipley take a seat as their daughter Kaliyah naps during Monday's parade
Canadian rapper, Toronto native and Raptors global ambassador Drake (in black) enjoys Monday's parade with the team
Lowry gestures towards fans while holding the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the NBA basketball championship team's victory parade
General view of the crowd size for the Toronto Raptors NBA championship parade
Kawhi Leonard, left to right, celebrates with Drake, Leonard's girlfriend Kishele Shipley and his mother Kim Robertson (right)
Members of the Toronto Raptors ride on buses during a victory parade in Toronto on Monday
Fans climb the arches at Nathan Phillips Square ahead of Monday's victory parade in Toronto
Raptors power forward Pascal Siakam sprays champagne over the attendees at Monday's victory parade in Toronto
Pascal Siakam (left) and his Toronto Raptors teammates celebrate the franchise's first NBA title
The Raptors beat the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Oakland on Thursday to clinch the 2019 NBA Finals and win the first title in the franchise's 24-year-history. Monday's parade began at 10am ET at Exhibition Place's Princes' Gates and ended at Nathan Phillips Square with a 12:30pm rally
Drake was named the Raptors' global ambassador in 2013 and is a member of the team's executive committee, although his exact role is somewhat undefined.
He made headlines during the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Milwaukee Bucks for his sideline antics, which included giving Raptors coach Nick Nurse an impromptu back rub.
But while the Canadian rapper has become closely identified with the Raptors, Monday's parade put the spotlight on the team's growing army of fans.
Lifelong Raptors fan Morteza Hashimi told CBC that he spent the night sleeping on the concrete at the Square so he wouldn't have an obstructed view of the festivities.
'It's really important because the amount of years we've spent watching this team, the amount of heartbreaks, the devastation that we've had in playoffs and the really bad years that we've gone through,' Hashimi said.
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Raptors win their FIRST ever NBA title with a dramatic Game Six victory over the battered Warriors 114-110 in Oakland as Kawhi Leonard is named Finals MVP and Toronto ERUPTS in celebratio
Stephen Curry’s full phone conversation with Drake congratulating him on the Toronto Raptors’ championship—only on CloseUp360.
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Seventy-three years after the Toronto Huskies hosted the first NBA game in league history, the city's current franchise, the Raptors, pulled out a dramatic Game 6 victory over the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors to capture the first title in franchise history.
Canada's only NBA team put the finishing touches to a remarkable 4-2 series upset at Oakland's Oracle Arena that denied the Warriors a fourth championship in five years.
When the final buzzer sounded, jubilant Raptors fans flooded the streets of downtown Toronto for a night of celebration not seen in the city since Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays last won a World Series title in 1993.
Even from atop Toronto's skyscrapers, fans could be cheering and honking car horns on the streets down below.
Seventy-three years after the Toronto Huskies hosted the first NBA game in league history, the city's current franchise, the Raptors, pulled out a dramatic Game 6 victory over the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors to capture the first title in franchise history
Toronto Raptors' Kawhi Leonard, left, and Kyle Lowry celebrate in the locker room after the Raptors' 114-110 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of basketball's NBA Finals
Seventy-three years after the first NBA game was played in Toronto, the Raptors pulled out a dramatic Game 6 win over the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors to capture the first title in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard earned his second Finals MVP award
For the first time in NBA history, the league's title went to a non-American team
Thompson was attempting a layup, but was fouled by Raptors guard Danny Green. Thompson landed awkwardly and appeared to hurt his knee on the play
Toronto Raptors fans celebrate in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning
Jurassic Park, as the area has come to be known, became the epicenter of Toronto's joy
Facing elimination and playing without former MVP Kevin Durant, the Warriors' season and dynasty was on the line Thursday night in Oakland after star Klay Thompson went down with a knee injury against the Toronto Raptors.
Thompson left the game, then limped out of the tunnel and returned to the court - drawing raucous cheers - so he could shoot his free throws, allowing him to possibly return after being evaluated. He made both shots, the Warriors then took a foul a few seconds later and Thompson retreated toward the locker room again. A few minutes later, the word came: Thompson was done for the night.
As his agent told ESPN, Thompson appears to have torn his ACL, which would be a devastating diagnosis for the soon-to-be free agent.
The Warriors now enter an off-season with two of their top players can hit the open market, albeit with significant injuries.
'A lot of bad breaks in the finals, to be honest,' Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. 'Like us, they kept on playing. We just had to keep on playing no matter who was out there. And I think they were super intense high-level games and both teams desperately trying to win.'
Marc Gasol (left), Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka (right) celebrate their first NBA title
Announcer and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy quickly pointed out that Green's foul was not dirty, but an honest effort to block Thompson's layup.
Despite the injuries, the Warriors held a slim 88-86 lead entering the fourth quarter and had a legitimate chance to push the series to a seventh game before succumbing to the Raptors down the stretch.
Golden State still had a chance, even in the final seconds. Stephen Curry missed a three-pointer with about six seconds left that would have given the Warriors the lead. The actual ending came several minutes later after long delays following a technical on Golden State for calling a time-out it didn't have and then a long review of a foul on Toronto's inbounds pass with less than a second left.
The Raptors didn't mind waiting.
And for the Warriors, it just prolonged the inevitable.
Thompson finished with 30 points, even missing the fourth quarter. Andre Iguodala scored 22 points, Curry had 21 and Draymond Green finished with 11 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists.
It wasn't enough.
Fred VanVleet rescued the Raptors down the stretch with his dazzling shooting from deep to score 22 points with five 3s off the bench, while Leonard wound up with 22 points. Kyle Lowry scored the game's first eight points and finished with 26 in all to go with 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Raptors fans packed the streets of Toronto celebrate the first NBA title in franchise history
Marc Gasol celebrates his first NBA title with teammate Serge Ibaka in Oakland on Thursday
Fans celebrate in the streets of Toronto after the Raptors Game 6 win over the Warriors
Fred VanVleet (right) rescued the Raptors down the stretch with his dazzling shooting from deep to score 22 points with five 3s off the bench
Besides the CFL, Toronto has not won a major title since 1993, when the Blue Jays won their second World Series. Toronto had been known as a hockey town, but that could be changing
Toronto's slogan 'We the North' has been replaced by a new phrase: 'We the champs'
It was a sad farewell to Oracle for so many reasons. The 2,070th and final game in that building that the Warriors called home for 47 seasons. The first game since Durant had surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles. The last loss of the season. The end of the quest for three straight championships. And if all that emotion wasn't enough, now there's fear for Thompson's future.
Thompson will be a free agent on June 30. The Warriors have said they want to keep him, and they likely still will. But if he has a major knee issue now that would be on top of the injury that will likely keep Durant - another probable free-agent-in-waiting, maybe the biggest domino that will fall this summer to start an expected player-movement bonanza - off the court for all of next season.
The irony with Thompson's injury is he doesn't get hurt.
Thompson one of the most durable players in the league. He strained a hamstring earlier in these finals and missed one game. He may have done a number on his knee on Thursday and was still lobbying to stay in the game.
He was gone before the Raptors' celebration. When the Warriors start play next season at the new Chase Center in San Francisco, there will be no banner to raise, no rings to hand out. An era is over. A new one will have to begin.
By The Associated Press
Kawhi Leonard's first season with the Toronto Raptors started with his now-infamous laugh.
It ended with him getting the last laugh.
The best player on the league's newly crowned best team is an NBA Finals MVP for the second time. Toronto finally sits atop the basketball universe, with Leonard averaging 28.5 points in a six-game finals victory over the Golden State Warriors to lead the Raptors to their first championship.
He arguably ended any debate about who the best two-way player in the sport is at this moment.
'This is what I play basketball for,' Leonard said. 'This is what I work out for.'
The King of the North, as they've been calling Leonard in Toronto, was King of the Playoffs. He's the third player to win Finals MVP with two franchises, joining only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James.
The King of the North, as they've been calling Leonard in Toronto, was King of the Playoffs. He's the third player to win Finals MVP with two franchises, joining only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James
'I think he's the best two-way basketball player in the NBA,' Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. 'He just goes. You know, I've seen some stuff from him this year that you just say, 'Wow.' You do. You say, 'Wow.' You appreciate the work that he's put in. He works extremely hard at his game and works extremely hard on his body. And he loves this basketball thing. Loves it.'
Perhaps never more so than Thursday night.
After missing most of last season with a leg injury, after having his commitment questioned, after getting traded to Toronto, Leonard returned to basketball's mountaintop. He thrust both arms high into the air when it was over, letting out a scream of joy. He even allowed himself a tiny smile when he hoisted the MVP trophy.
Kawhi Leonard lifts his second Finals MVP award after the Raptors Game 6 win over the Warriors in Oakland on Thursday
'He's just a competitor,' Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. 'We respect that, for sure. He's shown that again this entire playoff run.'
Giannis Antetokounmpo will probably win the NBA's MVP award in a couple of weeks. James Harden and Paul George are the other finalists. And while all three of those players had marvelous regular seasons, the postseason was Leonard's personal showcase.
He scored 732 points in the playoffs. Only Michael Jordan (759) and LeBron James (748) ever scored more in a single postseason. Leonard finished with 14 games of 30 points or more in these playoffs. The only players with more in a single postseason are Jordan (16 in 1992), Hakeem Olajuwon (16 in 1995) and Kobe Bryant (15 in 2009).
'Without a doubt, the best thing about this thing is that somehow I wound up on the sideline getting to watch this guy play up close,' said Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who won an NBA title in his first season as a head coach in the league. 'It's really cool.'
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (far left) sank his first four shots and ended the the opening quarter with 15 points as Toronto held a narrow 33-32 lead entering the second frame. Teammate Pascal Siakam (near right) recovered from a recent 0-for-12 stretch from three-point range to hit three of his first four from deep on Thursday
Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol, right, loses the ball in Game 6 of the NBA Finals
Sarah McLachlan performs the Canadian National Anthem prior to Game 6 of the NBA Finals
Fans react in the Jurassic Park fan zone during Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors, televised live from Oakland, in Toronto, Ontario
The 2019 NBA Finals did not lack any historical significance.
Monday's 106-105 final not only produced the first one-point Finals margin since 2007, but it also made the Warriors just the sixth team in NBA history to win a potential elimination game on the road.
Fans attending Thursday's game will get a towel honoring Durant, a.k.a. 'KD'
History remained on the Raptors' side entering Game 6. Of the 34 teams that have led a Finals 3-1, 33 have gone on to win the championship. The only exception was the Warriors in 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to win in seven games.
Exacerbating matters for Golden State was the loss of Durant, who returned from a calf injury to score 11 points in 12 minutes in Game 5, only to sustain a ruptured Achilles in the same leg. Durant is expected to miss the majority of next season, if not the entire 2019-2020 campaign.
Warriors players and fans were outraged during Game 5 when a contingent of Raptors supporters appeared to cheer Durant's injury, even as Toronto veterans Ibaka and Lowry attempted to hush them and pat the rival star on the back.
Fans attending Thursday's game got a towel honoring Durant, a.k.a. 'KD.'
Fans share their support for Kevin Durant, who may have played his last game for Golden State
Warriors fans did not forget Kevin Durant, who ruptured his Achilles in Game 5
Comment
Sadly, there will be antholes anywhere people are gathered. If each of fans could just give one lash to whoever the jackglass was, how rewarding it will be.
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