Spain wins Basketball World Cup 2019

Spain has captured its second FIBA World Cup championship, defeating Argentina 95-75, giving Marc Gasol a rare double-title year. Tournament MVP Ricky Rubio scored 20 points and Sergio Llull added 15 for Spain (8-0), the ninth team to make it through a World Cup or world championship unbeaten. Gasol scored 14 for the winners. For Gasol, it was historic.

The Toronto Raptors center becomes the second player to win an NBA title and a FIBA world gold medal in the same year. He joins Lamar Odom, who did it for the Lakers and USA Basketball in 2010. Gasol is also the 19th player to win either an NBA or WNBA crown along with a gold medal, either of the Olympic or World Cup variety, in the same year. And he’s the first to accomplish that feat while representing a nation other than the U.S.

When Spain won its first title in 2006, it was Pau Gasol — Marc’s older brother — leading the way. This time, it was the not-so-little brother who led his nation to gold, hoisting the World Cup trophy three months after getting his hands on the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time. Gabriel Deck scored 24 points for Argentina (8-1), which got off to a slow start and played uphill the rest of the way. Luis Scola was held to eight points, shooting 1 for 10 from the floor.

Spain led 43-31 at the half, riding the strength of two big runs. Spain ran out to a quick 14-2 lead, only to have Argentina answer with an 11-0 spurt. But when that ended, Spain came back with a 17-1 run and took what was then its biggest lead at 31-14. Scola, even at 39 years old still Argentina’s best player throughout the tournament, didn’t get on the scoresheet until he made a pair of free throws with 2:57 left in the third. But they cut the Spain lead only to 19, and by then the Argentine fans — who stood in the stands a few rows from their team’s bench, singing and chanting for much of the game — were relatively quiet.

There was one last gasp from Argentina, an 11-4 run to open the fourth quarter and cut Spain’s lead to 12 with 6:30 left. But Llull’s three-point play on the next Spain possession pushed the lead back to 15. Gasol, Scola, France’s Evan Fournier and Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic joined Rubio on the all-tournament team.

NBA 2019: Toronto Raptors beat Golden State Warriors to win title

The Toronto Raptors won a wild game 114-110 against Golden State Warriors in Oakland for their first NBA Title. Toronto won the series 4-2, finishing it off a few minutes after Klay Thompson used crutches to hobble out of Oracle and into perhaps an uncertain future. The leading team switched throughout the game, with the Raptors clinging to a one-point lead with 18 seconds left.

Stephen Curry missed a contested 3-pointer in the waning moments before Golden State called a timeout it didn't have, giving Leonard a technical free throw with 0.9 seconds left to seal it. Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP for a second time, then got behind Andre Iguodala for a layup as the buzzer sounded, but it went to review and the basket was called off before Leonard's two free throws. That only delayed the celebration for a moment.

When it actually ended, the typically stoic Leonard could let it all out. A Canadian team - and we're not talking hockey here - stood on top of one of the traditional major sports leagues for the first time since the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series. Serge Ibaka pulled his head up through the hoop by the Golden State bench as the crowd chanted "Warriors! Warriors!" after a sensational send-off at Oracle Arena. 

Kyle Lowry finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Raptors. Pascal Siakam also went for 26, while Kawhi Leonard and Fred VanVleet each added 22 of their own. Thompson led the Warriors with 30 points, and Andre Iguodala chipped in 22 points. The Warriors were already without Kevin Durant, out with a ruptured Achilles that left the team fielding some criticism about the risk he was taking by returning to the series while already dealing with a lower-leg injury.