The Toronto Raptors dug deep on their home floor to secure a 118-112 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, led by 36 points from Kawhi Leonard.
4 TAKEAWAYS: Raptors survive in 2OT, behind huge game from Kawhi
Despite playing a career-high 52 minutes on the night, Leonard came up huge down the stretch, scoring 19 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods.
Norman Powell, who played his best game of the post-season with 19 points off the bench, credited Kawhi's leadership in crunch time as the key factor in helping the Raptors hold off a relentless Bucks team, who refused to go quietly, even with Giannis Antetokounmpo fouling out early in the second overtime period.
"It's amazing, what he's been doing for us all year, especially in the post-season, he's been really good for us," Powell said of Leonard post-game.
"He's a guy that all he wants to do is win, he doesn't care about the accolades, the points, as long as he's out there helping the team win that's good for us.
"We feed off of that and he's a great leader for us and to be able to go out there and play 52 minutes and lead the team with his voice in the timeouts, telling us to stay calm, stay in the moment and not get anxious when they went on runs, it's amazing to have a guy like that on the team."
MORE: Kawhi sets Raptors playoff record with sixth 35-point game
Leonard was instrumental in leading the Raptors to victory in Game 3, shooting 11--of-25 from the field and 12-of-13 at the free throw line, adding nine rebounds and five assists, despite appearing to be bothered by a leg injury.
"I'm feeling alright," Leonard told TNT's Kristen Ledlow. "This is playoff basketball. Everybody's hurting so I've just got to keep fighting.''
"This is playoff basketball..."
— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2019
Kawhi recaps the @Raptors 2OT win!#WeTheNorth #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/MT16navIHI
The Raptors will look to level the series at 2-2 when they take on the Bucks in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
