So, there Lowry was, putting up shots in an empty Air Canada Centre. Also shooting 60.6 percent from the floor, the up-and-coming center is now leading the league in blocks this postseason behind an average of 3.43 per game.
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After the game, Lowry told reporters he was planning to stay in the gym for extra practice, and still had not left after 1 a.m., according to the Raptors’ Twitter account.
Toronto now looks ahead to a pivotal Game 2 on Thursday, with Miami having the chance to take a 2-0 lead while starting the series on the road.
Wade had just watched Kyle Lowry’s halfcourt heave drop through the net to tie the game at the buzzer, forcing overtime and capping a insane meltdown by the Miami Heat. Wade added nine third period points moving into 16th place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list.
“I haven’t shot the ball well for a while now”, Lowry said. However, the Raptors clawed their way back into the game, cutting the lead to four or less multiple times with less than four minutes to play.
With Kyle Lowry’s struggles continuing, the Raptors leaned on Jonas Valanciunas, Demar DeRozan and Terrance Ross. “It’s life. It’s a basketball game, I know I can shoot better than 31 per cent”. With tenacious defense, Miami did not let the Raptors score any points in the first one minute and fourteen seconds of overtime. Lowry shot just 33 percent from the floor in the last eight games of the regular season, and it’s not unreasonable to think the elbow is still bothering him.
The Raptors led by two at the half, but the Heat had a 10-point lead with 6:30 to play.
“Defensively, I thought the matchups were better for us but I thought the tempo, the pace of the game it created was good for us”, Casey said. In the playoffs, however, he has averaged 13.0 points and shot 8-for-50 (16 percent) from beyond the arc. “You can’t have some of the mistakes that we made, turning it over”. “It’s kind of mind-boggling right now, and it’s frustrating, but I’m not going to shy away from the criticism or anything”. That shot wasn’t the difference in the ball game, but it once again highlighted the Raptors vulnerability along the perimeter.
“Game 1, you’ve got to be on point”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
“Just like a hitter (in baseball), hitters go through slumps”. He shot 9-for-22 from the field. “He’s an All-Star for a reason, like we all say”, Toronto power forward Patrick Patterson said.
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Despite getting more attention from Canadian TV viewers, the Toronto Raptors are still struggling to compete with hockey and baseball. Although the Raptors advanced through the first round without Kyle playing at his best, in order to reach the Eastern Conference finals, Lowry will need to regain the touch that made him an All-Star.
