24 years, 1 goal: Toronto is electric with the Raptors just 1 win away from NBA championship

One more win.

That's all the Toronto Raptors need to become the first Canadian team to win the NBA championship.

Game 5 of the series tipped off at 9 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena. The Toronto Raptors though will have to wait to win their first title in franchise history with the visiting Golden State Warriors edging Toronto 106-105 to slice the Raptors' lead in the NBA Finals to 3-2.

StubHub, the ticket reseller, said some 1,400 tickets were available as of Monday, but even the cheapest ticket was going for $2,100. In a news release, StubHub Canada's general manager Paul Nowosad calls this series the best-selling NBA Finals ever for the site. "Fans want to be there for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said. 

Outside, diehard Raptors fans camped out for days, at times braving pouring rain, just to stand in Jurassic Park, the sprawling fan zone that's somehow grown larger and louder with each of the team's playoff runs in recent years.

Toronto, the city, felt electric. And in the Finals, where the Raptors have a 3-2 lead over the Golden State Warriors, that energy has spread across the country, with fan zones springing up from Halifax to Almonte, Ont. — the birthplace of basketball's founder, James Naismith — and westward to Calgary.

And then there were the Raptors fans scrambling to find a way to watch further abroad in places like Australia, Kenya, Sweden and Costa Rica. 

• MAP | Where in the world are Raptors fans watching NBA Finals?

Why are people watching? Because there's a real belief this team will win Game 6. 

"We have the energy and the fans and the momentum to do it," said Selena Jasmine Singh, who hosts the "Jurassic Park West" viewing parties in Mississauga, Ont., which have been drawing thousands. 

Prashan Shiv, who is spending his 33rd birthday in Jurassic Park, was also confident. "We're making history on my birthday. That's it."    

Around him other fans broke out in a new chant: "Raps in five! We the north!"

That was not to be — at least not on Monday night. But there are still two more chances for the Raptors to bring home their first NBA championship ever. 

The surprise of a lifetime

Then there were the die-hards who lined up at Jurassic Park in the hours after Game 4 to be guaranteed a spot in the middle of the action Monday night. 

Tyler Seaton and Angie Taylor of Cambridge, Ont., and Zac and Doug Tiessen of Stoney Creek, Ont., were among the first in line, braving the rain, taking turns sleeping and watching out for each other.

Seaton and Taylor began waiting on Friday night, while the Tiessens joined them on Saturday afternoon. The fans, who dubbed themselves the "Fab Four," became fast friends on the weekend.

"We got through the night," Tiessen said on Sunday.

On Monday, as a reward for their loyalty, came an unforgettable surprise. 

A rep from Canadian food retailer Sobeys attended Jurassic Park to give them four free tickets to tonight's game. 

Praying for a win, literally

Some fans were literally praying for a Raptors win.

In the days leading up to the game, the Jaffari Community Centre was one of several places of worship around the Greater Toronto Area where fans will be gathering for viewing parties.

"Let us all ... do our part by praying for the Raptors to make history," the mosque's website said in a post.

There was similar sentiment at the Calvary Baptist Church in Toronto. 

Team playing it cool

Kyle Lowry shares sweet moment with kid reporter during press conference

5 years ago

Duration 0:39

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry is asked how it feels to be an icon across Canada.

The Raptors themselves may have been the only ones not celebrating. Star Kawhi Leonard, who is playing Michael Jordan-level basketball in these playoffs, has repeatedly said there will be no celebrating until the team wins a fourth game. After the last win, the team walked out of Oakland barely smiling.

Maestro Fresh-Wes, the well-known Toronto rapper who just released a new song to honour the team, said he's been impressed by the team's cool.

"This was like business for them," he said on Monday morning.

"They were just ready to be like: 'You know what? We got to be mentally prepared and stick to our vision and that's bringing home the title.'"

If they do win, backbones will be sliding across the city, he said with a laugh, a reference to his breakthrough hit from 1989.

City brimming with excitement

Toronto Mayor John Tory said a win would be good for the city's psychology, especially given Toronto's long-running championship drought (barring wins by Toronto FC, the Argos and Marlies, of course.)

The Blue Jays were the last major Toronto team to win a title, something that touched off massive celebrations up and down Yonge Street. Authorities are already taking precautions to deal with widespread celebrations, after previous wins sent fans spilling into downtown streets and major intersections.

Since then, the city has changed dramatically, but Tory said the desire to win is the same.

"I think what hasn't changed is just the joy that people feel, no matter who they are, living in a big city when one of your teams is doing well," he said.

"When the teams are down people are down, and when the teams are up people are up — and they're up."