The Toronto Raptors faced the Golden State Warriors twice in 2018-19 coming away with the victory on both occasions, including their first win at Oracle Arena in Oakland in 14 years.

Prior to this season, the Raptors had lost eight straight games to the two-time defending NBA champion Warriors. However, this was before the Kawhi Leonard era in Toronto.

In November, the first of two meetings this season between the two teams, the Warriors went into the game minus Steph Curry, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins. Kevin Durant excelled for Golden State with 51 points, but the Raptors prevailed with 37 points from Leonard and 26 from Pascal Siakam as the Raptors took it 131-128 in overtime in Toronto.

“This might be a preview of June. They got something really special up in Canada right now," Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson told the media. "Right now they are the best. I expect them to be there probably throughout the whole season. They got tremendous length, they got so many two-way players, obviously, Kawhi [Leonard] is back and playing at an MVP level, and Kyle Lowry is a great leader as well as — he's a bulldog out there."

In their second meeting two weeks later, the Raptors were without Leonard, who sat out with a sore hip. Instead, it was Lowry who led the charge in this game as he posted 23 points and 12 assists. The Warriors had almost their full roster as Curry, Durant, Green and Thompson all played. It was a game that the Raptors dominated as they took this one 113-93. For Fred VanVleet, it was the Raptors’ defence that was as impressive as their offence. "They're one of the best teams in the league for a reason and their offence is so lethal that you try to take the main guys out and make them do things that they're not comfortable doing," VanVleet said.

The Raptors and Warriors haven’t played each other since Dec. 12. In their journey back to the NBA Finals, the Warriors dispatched the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets in six games, before sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals. In the East, the Raptors took out the Orlando Magic in five games, went the distance with the Philadelphia 76ers eliminating them in seven and taking out the Milwaukee Bucks in six.

For analyst Leo Rautins, he echoes VanVleet's previous comments about the Raptors' defence. "It’s amazed me because if you look at this team, and you understood how this team was built, how they won in the playoffs, they had the hardest path to the Eastern Conference final," said Rautins. "With Orlando, with the Philadelphia 76ers, and how do they do it? With defence. Defence travels, defence wins series and they took that defence to Milwaukee and that was the difference."

However for ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, he predicts the Warriors will win the NBA Finals in six games. "What Milwaukee struggled with is Golden State’s specialty," said Smith. "And with that mind, I have to give Golden State the edge. If Kawhi Leonard pulls this off and beats the Golden State Warriors, with or without KD (Kevin Durant), he beats the Golden State Warriors, I’m going to say right now whatever we’re praising Leonard with today, it’s going to elevate exponentially if he pulls this off. Because anybody that knows basketball, I don’t know how you can see them (Raptors) pulling off a victory over the Golden State Warriors."