TORONTO -- You know it's coming, but that doesn't mean you can stop it.
Backed by a raucous home crowd, the Toronto Raptors were up 10 and had the Golden State Warriors right where they wanted with a minute remaining in the first half.
The Warriors used a 6-1 run to close out the half, cutting the Raptors lead to 59-54 and giving them a glimpse of what was to come.
Golden State opened the second half on a 18-0 run to take control of the game. It was a jarring turn that silenced the crowd and put the Raptors on their heels.
"I feel like in that third quarter, we didn't score the ball in like the first five minutes, four and a half minutes, obviously led to them getting out in transition early and a lot of layups and open looks, and that was pretty much the game right there," Kawhi Leonard said following the loss. "Went on like a 15, 18-0 run, I believe, and you can't do that with a championship team on the other side."
With the Warriors in attack mode, Toronto learned a valuable lesson. The easiest way to compete with the Champs is to score so you can get back and set your defense. The shots stopped falling for the Raptors and you could feel the panic start to set in.
"I've always said even this series and the last series that offense is really important, taking care of the ball and scoring it because if you don't, they're coming at you really fast the other way." Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said. "And again, we have got to be able to get our defense set up, and it's a lot harder when you're not taking care of it or scoring."
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They Raptors were outscored 34-21 in the third. They were also outshot 56 percent to 31.8 percent from the field as the game sped up and spun out of control.
"I think that when we have good offense and we're able to get our defense set, we can live with that," reserve guard Fred VanVleet said. "But when we're turning the ball over and not getting good shots and not making any shots and you got to guard those guys in transition every play, it gets tough and that's what you saw."
Everyone kicked in during the run for the Warriors. Six players scored in the period as they knocked down 14-of-25 from the field in the period. Golden State put on a clinic, handing out assists on all 14 makes in the period.
Toronto looked a step slow and the with the ball swinging from one side to the next, they weren't able to get physical with the Warriors like they had in both Game 1 of the Finals and the first half of Game 2.
"We missed some good shots, and defensively they kind of got away from our body," center Marc Gasol said. "We couldn't use the physicality. They moved the ball really well and were running freely. Once they run freely, everything opens up for them."
All five Warriors starters posted two assists or more in the period with Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins and Draymond Green each handing out three dimes in the 12 minute session.
Golden State took an 88-80 lead into the fourth and had the momentum. The Raptors didn't quietly, but the damage down coming out of the intermission was too much to overcome.
"We didn't play well enough," veteran Kyle Lowry said. "We missed too many shots. They got out in transition and got a little bit of confidence going. Third quarter. We lost the game there. We fought back and did a great job, but we missed some looks in the third quarter that we usually make."
Toronto kept it close, but the Warriors successfully defended down the stretch and Andre Iguodala buried a huge 3-pointer to seal the win with 5.9 seconds remaining.
With the 109-104 victory, the Warriors stole home court advantage as the series moves to Oracle Arena beginning on Wednesday. Golden State is beat up and running on fumes, but they've been in this position plenty of times in the Finals over the last five years.
The Raptors have to find a way to bounce back and win one on the Warriors home turf or this series could be over quickly.
