The Golden State Warriors, fresh off their record-setting 73-9 regular season, are starting all over this afternoon as they open their playoff run in search of a second straight National Basketball Association championship.
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(Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP).
Toronto is just 2-5 at home in their last three playoff appearances and the last time they won an opening game in the playoffs, Vince Carter was still sporting a Raptors jersey.
For the past two years it was Paul Pierce who thrived on the boos of the crowd and carried the Nets and the Wizards past the Raptors in the first round. The only thing missing was Paul George throwing a choke sign at Drake.
Now healthy, he couldn’t be happier about being back in the postseason.
After sustaining a compound fracture while scrimmaging with Team USA in Las Vegas, George went through extensive rehabilitation and played the entirety of the 2015-16 season. It’s a mindset he developed after watching some of his other teammates step to the forefront to lead the Pacers during their rise through the Eastern Conference a couple of years ago.
“That hurt more than the actual break, not getting this team to the playoffs previous year”, George said. He turned thoughtful and said “It would mean a lot”.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry is questionable for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Monday night. George’s performance proved that he’s really a game-changer when at the top of his game. Unfortunately, Valanciunas couldn’t stay out of foul trouble throughout the course of the game, and with the Raptors trailing by 10 late in the fourth quarter, fouled out.
DeRozan, who averaged 23.5 points during the regular season, finished with 14 on 5-of-19 shooting.
The Raptors shot 38 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers leading to 25 points.
“I think that’s our nature, our players’ DNA”, Casey pointed out. “The whole series will be about different adjustments, whether it’s personnel or scheme driven for the next game”.
Cory Joseph was a bright spot off the bench with a team-high 18 points in 24 minutes.
“It’s nothing to worry about at all”, DeRozan said after the loss. “We understand we just played bad”. It would be foolish to jump the gun on a first-round upset this early into the series.
As for the fans, some of whom booed the Raptors off the floor at Air Canada Centre in Game 1, Patrick Patterson had a message: “Just stick with us”.
A pair of free throws by Bismack Biyombo tied it at 76-all with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter but Rodney Stuckey answered with a 3 for Indiana.
Toronto, first-round losers in each of the past two seasons, has never won a seven-game playoff series.
Their only play-off series win was in a best-of-five first-round set in 2001. He went to the locker room before halftime and returned to play the first 2:47 of the third quarter before coach Steve Kerr called a timeout and took his star out of the game.
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Anyway, perhaps realizing that his turn of phrase sounded a bit bleak, DeRozan amended it to better reflect being down 1-0 to the seventh-seeded Pacers. Somehow all those second chances and free throw weren’t enough.
