“That’s how all the guys played tonight”.
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After a long season, it can be tough to remember how Miami fared against Toronto in the regular season.
By Monday afternoon, an average ticket price for Game 1 between Raptors and Miami Heat stood at US$205 on StubHub, with a potential to shoot higher as the series progresses. But the Pacers kept pushing in the fourth quarter. Toronto could be an issue for the Heat in that department as well; the Raptors outscored Indiana’s bench 34-27 on average in their matchup. IN cut it to three at 85-82 on Ellis’ 3-pointer with 2:37 left, but Lowry answered with a driving layup.
Paul George was the best player on the floor and finished the game with 26 points, but it was the play he didn’t make (and the foul the Raptors got away with on that play) that will be the talk of Game 7. The futures of Casey (team option) and DeRozan (unrestricted free agent) might have depended on it. As noted by NBA.com, he also had finished with a ideal 9-for-9 record from the free throw line.
For me, it comes down to the fact that the Raptors have another gear they can get to.
“The energy, the moments, a lot of people don’t get those opportunities to be able to play in a Game 7 when everything is the line, and all the things that me and this guy (fellow all-star Kyle Lowry, seated next to him) and the team has been through”, he added.
There was certainly contact before the ball arrived, although it could be argued that the level of contact was consistent with what was being allowed throughout the game, especially off the ball.
Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) carries the ball up court against Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson (0) at the Air Canada Centre. He went 10-for-32 from the field, and hit prolonged droughts where little worked. “He emptied the clip, and we won, so that is all that matters”.
Dwyane Wade looks for an opening. “The big thing for us was if we finish second in the East, the right way to finish this series is to move on to the next round”. Prior to the series victory, the Raptors held the longest active playoff series-losing streak in the National Basketball Association. The Raptors go up by fourteen, 78-64 at the end of the third.
Most of his attempts for the rest of the night were much more forced.
Into the third quarter now up 55-46 with 8:22 left to play, Carroll was right back at it as he shot himself a three to put Toronto up 58-46.
For once, it’s not good night for Toronto at the end of the first round.
Outside, thousands of Raptors fans braved the chilly weather to watch the game on the giant screen in Maple Leaf Square.
The Raptors appeared to have this one sewn up, with a 14-point lead heading into Q4. Patrick Patterson had 11 points. Casey recently discovered a predilection for small lineups that he never had during the regular season.
He did that tonight, and the groups just couldn’t score. Lowry banked home two driving layups in that stretch, Toronto’s only buckets in the final seven minutes.
Toronto coach Dwane Casey says he told his players they had until midnight Sunday to savour the series win.
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Lowry also spoke to Smith, and explained how the team was going to follow DeRozan’s lead, no matter what happened: “He was going to empty his clip and that’s what he did tonight and that’s what his goal was and we were going to ride with him emptying that clip”. “They can all play, but we have to go out there and do our job”. But Toronto at that point was playing the hoops equivalent of a prevent offense at that point, dribbling out possessions and then running something late off a simple pick-and-roll.
