Thousands of people took to the streets of downtown Toronto Saturday night in celebration of the Raptors’ historic Eastern Conference championship win.
Immediately after the 100-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, crowds erupted outside of Scotiabank Arena and the scenes were all captured on social media.
The official Raptors Twitter account posted a video shortly after the win showed the crowd going crazy in Jurassic Park with the caption, “T.O. WE LOVE YOU!”
A view from above Jurassic Park was also posted to Twitter by one user, showed tens of thousands of fans celebrating the win.
Other images posted online showed fans lighting off fireworks in the streets, crowds closing off roads and even people climbing on top of TTC buses and trucks outside of Union Station.
No one was moving around quickly downtown, as major roads throughout the downtown core were overcome by fans.
Videos showed crowds all along Front Street, York Street and also in Yonge-Dundas Square.
As celebrations were underway, Toronto police sent out a tweet asking everyone to be “mindful, courteous and safe” and on Sunday morning, a police spokesperson confirmed to Global News that no arrests were made as a direct result of the celebrations.
Raptors ambassador Drake was, once again, courtside during the game, cheering on the team and wearing a sweater that read, “Kawhi me a river,” drawing a response from Raptors fans.
Other celebrities and athletes also began posting their congratulations online after the win, including Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman, former Raptor Charles Oakley and rapper Kardinal Offishall.
Toronto Mayor John Tory also tweeted his congratulations, saying, “The @Raptors made history tonight! So proud of our team, the fans and this great city.”
Tory said the Toronto sign outside of city hall will turned red and black on Sunday in celebration of the victory.
Additional reaction to the win poured in from all over the country and even the world.
During the game, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted a photo of him and his son sitting on the couch watching the game and after the win said, “History made! @Raptors, it’s time to bring that championship to Canada!”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also got in on the excitement, saying that Saturday was “A great day for basketball fans across Canada!”
The Raptors are now set to face off against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, with the first game scheduled for Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
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