Bucks-Raptors, Nets-Heat

The Thunder had initially wanted to slow things down a little... but not long after the season began, AD got injured, and then one player after another started going down.

On top of that, competition in the West was tougher than in the East, and the Thunder also had a harder schedule. As a result, even the slightest letup could quickly drop them into the bottom half of the standings—or even to the edge of the Playoffs.

That made it incredibly difficult for the Thunder to find the right balance between chasing wins and giving their players time to rest.

For fans who had time to watch on June 4, tonight was undoubtedly a dream come true.

Not only could they witness the Game 7 War between the Thunder and the Lakers, but once that matchup was decided, they could immediately switch channels and seamlessly catch tonight's other showdown—the Game 7 War between the Bucks and the Raptors!

In fact, compared to the Thunder-Lakers matchup, the contest between the Bucks and the Raptors was much more evenly balanced.

The Lakers had needed the referees to blatantly bail them out in G6.

But the Bucks had genuinely, fairly and squarely lost three games to the Raptors.

Toronto was as tenacious as ever this year.

Once the game got underway, the Raptors managed to keep the Bucks firmly in check for a while with their superior three-point shooting.

By the end of the first quarter, they had built a huge lead of 14 points.

But soon, as the Second Quarter began, their bench rotation started to falter.

During the stretch when Lillard led the Bucks on his own, they unleashed a highly efficient offensive surge and muscled their way to a 15–4 run against the Raptors.

Then, once the starters returned