Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic scored 30 points to lead the injury-hit Miami Heat to a 103-91 victory here over the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
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Before the game the question was whether the Raptors take the opportunity to end the series in six and avoid the heart-attack inspiring crapshoot that a seventh game presents. “Nobody said it’s going to be easy, and I’ll be going to Toronto for the seventh game”. Basically everything. What went right for the Miami Heat? A few empty possessions later, Dwyane Wade did. The Raptors say he’s not ready to play, but the Heat know some sort of adjustment from Toronto is coming. “We have to buckle down and not rely on help so much”.
The Raptors surged at the start and led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter and were ahead by 20 in the second quarter before the Heat began chipping away at their deficit.
And if that wasn’t enough, LeBron James awaits the victor in the East finals.
Like Johnson, the Heat are taking a similar approach. But on this night the balance seemed to be tipped too far as no other Raptor scored in double figures and Toronto totalled only 10 assists as a team, five by Lowry and DeRozan combined. The Heat started rookie Justice Winslow at center and surrounded him with Luol Deng, Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic.
The Raptors allowed the Heat to shoot 48 per cent, while shooting 42 per cent themselves.
But Deng’s focus has been on limiting DeRozan’s offensive game. “If we score 10 each and everyone else does something, collectively that’s fine”. He finished the game with 30 points, after combining for 28 over the previous two. Both teams have key forwards dealing with wrist injuries, and Toronto’s leading scorer needs his super-tender thumb wrapped in something resembling a shoelace so he can play.
Wednesday was just not Miami’s night.
Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has been out with a sprained ankle since Game 3.
“Whatever is required”, has been Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra’s mantra throughout the postseason.
The most famous university degree in Toronto Raptors history is 15 years old. The American Airlines Arena was otherwise a sea of white, including one fan who held up a “We The South” sign.
Playing Games 4, 5 and 6 without seven-footer Whiteside would, at first glance, limit the Heat’s dominance in the paint, but Dragic proved everyone wrong. Lowry had 26 points on 12 of 27 shooting, while DeRozan was 8 of 21 for 23 points.
Whichever team wins will have a tall challenge against the top-seeded Cavs, who swept their first two opponents and will have had eight days off entering Tuesday’s Game 1 of the conference finals.
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Two guards and three small forwards on the court also meant that the Heat were able to force Bismack Biyombo into uncomfortable positions, and this led to a relentless mindset from the Heat guards in attacking the basket.
