Raptors win first ever NBA title

For the first time in the franchise's 24-year history, the Toronto Raptors are NBA Champions.

The Raptors sealed their title win on Thursday night with a 114-110 victory in Game 6 over the Golden State Warriors, marking Toronto's third win on the road at Oracle Arena in these finals. It also marked the first time the road team won five-straight games in an NBA Finals.

The @Raptors are the 2019 NBA Champions! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/nooya0x6Db

The Raptors jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a hot start from Kyle Lowry, who scored the first eight points for Toronto and finished with 26, matching teammate Pascal Siakam for the team-high.

The Warriors were already without superstar forward Kevin Durant, who suffered an achillies injury in Game 5. In the third quarter, Klay Thompson went down late after hurting his knee and would be out for the rest of the contest. After the game, ESPN basketball insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Thompson had torn his ACL in his left knee.

Golden State's Klay Thompson has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, his agent Greg Lawrence tells ESPN.

Thompson had a game-high 30 points prior to his exit.

Golden State, making their fifth straight finals appearance, showed off their championship pedigree by hanging with the Raptors throughout the fourth quarter, despite being without two of their top scorers. However, Toronto had just enough left to deliver a final punch to the team that's seemed to have a stranglehold on the NBA playoffs for the last five years.

Fred VanVleet led the Toronto offense down the stretch, tallying 12 points and hitting a trio of three-pointers in the fourth quarter. He finished with 22 points overall and shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc.

VanVleet connects and has 22 PTS, 5 3PM on the night!#WeTheNorth 104#StrengthInNumbers 101

3:27 to play on ABC & TSN pic.twitter.com/rIBpL96YQo— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2019

Kawhi Leonard, who had a quiet 22 points, six rebounds and three assists in Game 6, was named the Finals MVP. Leonard averaged 28 points per-game in the Finals en route to winning his second finals MVP (won in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs). With the award, Leonard joins LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history to win a Finals MVP with two different teams.

The 2019 Bill Russell #NBAFinals MVP... Kawhi Leonard of the @Raptors! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/fdb8SbUaFn

Before the 2018-19 season, the Raptors took a risk by acquiring Leonard from the Spur in exchange for the team's all-time leading scorer, Demar DeRozan.

Steph Curry, who has arguably been the face of the Warriors dynasty over the last five years, finished with 21 points and seven assists. Draymond Green managed to log a triple-double in the loss, finishing with 11 points, 13 assists and 19 rebounds.

Golden State will now look towards the offseason, one that has a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the futures of Durant and possibly Thompson remaining on the team. Durant can opt-out of his current contract and head to free agency, while Thompson is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent.

The Raptors will have a free agency challenge of their own as they'll attempt to re-sign Leonard, who is also scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent, long-term. They'll also reflect on their impressive championship run. On their way to making their first NBA Finals appearance, the Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, and the NBA's best team in the regular season (record-wise), the Milwaukee Bucks.