Toronto Raptors look to take 2-0 lead in NBA Finals against Golden State Warriors Sunday

The Toronto Raptors will look to continue their historic run and take a two-game lead over the defending champions Golden State Warriors when they face off Sunday night in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The Raptors took Game 1 Thursday night 118-109, led by a dominant 32-point playoff career-high performance from Pascal Siakam taking on one of the game’s most elite defencement in Draymond Green.

“I think that was kind of like the first time during the playoffs where we kind of got out in transition a lot. I was just running and it just felt good. But I don’t know, I think just taking whatever the defence gives me and whatever is there for me,” Siakam told reporters Friday.

Game 1 not only marked the first time the Raptors have made an NBA Finals, but also the first time an NBA Finals game was played in Canada.

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The Warriors had won all four Game 1s in the last four years but all those had come at home in Oakland. The Raptors found themselves with home-court advantage after finishing with a better regular-season record (58-24) than Golden State (57-25).

Questions surrounded the Raptors going into the NBA Finals, asking if the team was ready for the enormity of the situation. Game 1 started out at a hectic, frenzied pace, as both sides tried to figure each other out. Ultimately, though, it was the Raptors’ transition game and strong defence from across the lineup that won out.

However, looking forward to Game 2, Raptors coach Nick Nurse knows the Warriors will look to make the necessary adjustments and match ups needed to try to take a home game from Toronto.

“We know that after a win the team that gets beat gets really determined; they try to fix things. They mostly play a lot harder and more physical and all those kind of things,” he told reporters Friday.

“And for us, we just had a lengthy, lengthy film session. There was plenty on there that we need to do better if we want to win another game in this series. So we have to fix those things and get ready to play a game.”

Raptors OG Anunoby, who has been sidelined since April 11 after requiring an emergency appendectomy should be active Sunday, Nurse said.

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Warriors coach Steve Kerr told media that star forward Kevin Durant, who hurt his calf in the second round against the Houston Rockets, will not play in Game 2.

“Kevin’s not going to play Sunday,” Kerr said on Friday. “I guess we’ve been sort of holding out hope, but he’s not practising today, he’s not (going to) practise tomorrow. He’s still progressing … It’s near impossible for him to play on Sunday.”

Durant, who was named NBA Finals MVP the past two years, has been out since May 8.

After Game 2 in Toronto, the series shifts to Oakland, Calif., for Games 3 and 4 next week.