Montreal gets its own Jurassic Park to cheer on Raptors

The buzz and hype around the Toronto Raptors is showing no signs of dying down even here in Montreal.

Hundreds of fans lined Peel Street downtown to watch the Raptors take on the Golden State Warriors outdoors in a game that could have gone down in history, had the team become thefirst from Canadato win an NBA title.

And while some thought it extremely bizarre that a Montreal street would be shut down for a watch party in honour of a team from gasp Toronto, many fans said this team goes beyond the typical Montreal-Toronto rivalry.

"I've been a Raptors fan all my life since I started watching basketball maybe when I was eightor nineyears old. I remember when they used to play on Sunday afternoons at 12. Now to see this, one game away from a championship. It's amazing," said fan Mike Lisella.

The Raptors are still a game away from that title after falling 106-105 to the Warriors at home Monday night. They are up 3-2 on the defending champions.

Game 6 goes Thursday in Oakland, Calif., at 9 p.m.It is unclear whether the street will be closed that game too.

How Montreal's Jurassic Park came to be

The stretch of Peel, between Sherbrooke and Cypress streets, was closed over the weekend for Canadian Grand Prix festivities.

Alain Creton, head of the Peel Street Merchants' Association and the owner of restaurant Chez Alexandre, said Stphane Gauvin, the promoter responsible for the paddocks along Peel during the Grand Prix, reached out to himabout extending the closure of Peel for the basketball game.

Within a couple hours, they had co-ordinated everything with the city and police, he said.

"It's just a beautiful coincidence that the street was already closed," Creton said.