Article content

It was the biggest roar of the crowd since Jose Bautista’s bat flip in 2015.

When Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard, a newly minted hero in the land of the Maple Leaf, sailed through the air for a monstrous dunk that put his club ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks for good in the deciding game of the National Basketball Association’s Eastern Conference final on Saturday, sports fans erupted in bars across the Lower Mainland.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Jurassic West? Vancouver jumps on NBA Toronto Raptors bandwagon Back to video

“The place was rumbling,” said Luc Frost, a bartender at Colony Bar on Main Street in Vancouver. “It was the biggest sports event here since the bat flip.

“I have a friend who lives in a building across the street and he heard the cheers inside his place.”

This on the heels of Leonard’s heart-stopping four-bouncer that seemingly took forever to fall good and eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous round.

“For that one there was silence for a few seconds, then pandemonium,” said Frost.