Getty Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors will host Andre Iguodala and the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
The Toronto Raptors will welcome the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, in a potential preview of the 2019 NBA Finals.
The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on TNT. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
TNT is one of 85 channels included in the main Fubo bundle, which is tailored towards sports. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including TNT. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
TNT is included in both the “Sling Orange” and “Sling Blue” channel packages. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of either, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Preview
At 18-4, the Raptors own the NBA’s best record. So far, their big offseason gamble — trading franchise player DeMar DeRozan, young big man Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for superstar Kawhi Leonard and wing Danny Green — has paid off.
Leonard’s played in 16 of 22 games for the Raptors as he works his way back from a knee injury that kept him out for all but nine games a season ago. But he’s approached the form of his dominant 2016-17 season in those 16 contests, averaging 24.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
“He’s pretty much back to his old self,” Green told ESPN. “Just physicality-wise of being able to sustain back-to-backs is the only thing. … He’s fresh, he’s playing at a high level, the level he normally plays at.”
Toronto is 5-1 in games missed by Leonard. He scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block in the squad’s 122-114 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Point guard Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and added six assists.
“I’m still learning my team, and figuring out I don’t really have to do too much with all of this talent that we have,” Leonard said after the victory, per ESPN.
Toronto started the season 12-1, then suffered a three-game losing streak before rattling off three consecutive wins.
Golden State also started off hot — going 10-1 to open the year — before cooling considerably. With Stephen Curry sidelined by a groin injury and Draymond Green dealing with an injured toe, the team went on a 2-6 skid that ended with four consecutive losses. They’ve since won three in a row.
“He wants to play, he’s ready to play and we’re just going to be extra cautious,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told the Toronto Star of Curry.
Kerr added that Curry’s “dying” to play in Toronto; the star point guard’s father played for the Raptors for three seasons.
“He loves playing in Toronto, he’s got great memories of being here when Dell was playing with the Raptors.”
Early in the Warriors’ 2-6 stretch, stars Kevin Durant and Draymond Green got into a heated sideline argument that apparently continued after losing to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Veteran forward Andre Iguodala told ESPN he isn’t sure if the stars’ animosity will affect the team throughout the season.
“That’s a good question,” Iguodala said. “Because of so many different personalities. Different people respond to different things. It’s very precious because you got to be really careful with everything. It’s like life, in general and relationships. It’s very fragile. And when you have something special you try to keep it intact.”