The Heat entered having won their previous four Game 7s, all at home, but now are 0-2 all-time on the road in Game 7, also with a 2009 Game 7 loss in Atlanta. While he’s certainly had his strong moments (like Friday), the 30-year-old point guard had shot 35.6 percent from the field entering Game 6, and almost crumbled under the pressure of Toronto’s first-round series against the Indiana Pacers.
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Now Toronto goes up several weight classes when it begins the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland Tuesday night.
Next stop for Biyombo and the Raptors, Cleveland, the No.1 team in East. A DeRozan jumper followed by a Lowry three-pointer made it 111-86 with 3:24 left in the fourth quarter.
In his best game of the series, Lowry made 11 of 20 shots and had nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals. As he sat on the bench in the closing seconds, Lowry allowed himself a moment to reflect.
“Playing against a team like Miami, it pushed us to the limit, and so it was just a time to relax and just think about the things that we’ve done”.
Three games went into overtime to boost that total.
Game 6 wasn’t a must-win for the Raptors, but it sure felt like one. Dragic finished the first half with 19 points.
T-O would stretch the lead to in the second q, but Dwyane Wade is able to trim that as he steps into this three-ball. Chris Bosh was officially announced as out for the season before Game 2 after months of speculation. And they got plenty of help, as Bismack Biyombo had 16 rebounds to go with 17 points, DeMarre Carroll chipped in with 14 points, and Patrick Patterson had 11 points and 11 boards. And that really taught us a valuable lesson, especially for me and Kyle, of how much better we have to be, on the court, off the court, maturing. “All you want is a chance”. “I think we’ve done everything we set out to do, but again, we’re not done yet”.
“It’s a critical offseason for the growth and what we’ve been trying to do as an organization since our runs to the Finals”, Wade said. Not with Lowry and DeRozan putting together All-Star performances. The Heat and the Raptors both lived/died on iso-heavy offenses, predicated on hot hands, that doesn’t invite just a ton of passing. Now, the argument becomes tougher with the team advancing. He was routinely overmatched by either Lowry or DeRozan defensively. This country deserves it.
“There were some moments, ‘Gosh, are they ever going to make a shot?'” Casey said of guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
“I know it’s kind of cliché but we never doubted Kyle and DeMar”, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. “I thought this was a great series, but today Toronto was the better team for the majority of the game”. The fact that we’re even talking about Game 7 means it’s too late for the Raptors.
Ross routinely got by Dwyane Wade early in this game, and gave the Raptors the start they needed. “They always listen to us, they’re always working hard and those guys have a bright future”.
“We understood what was at stake”, DeRozan added. If you don’t, we’ve got to get you out. Nothing’s going to be easy. “Being short compared to players over 6’4”, Lowry had a major problem by nearly getting ejected twice with 11 personal fouls in two games. It’s just about battling.
Nevertheless, Toronto’s season already has been a resounding success, and the Raptors are playing with house money now. The Cavaliers have lost two games in the Eastern Conference playoffs over the last two years.
Raptors fans have come to expect a lot less from their team, and justifiably. “That happens to teams when they have a couple days off”.
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Scouting booklets for the Cavs were on the chair of each Raptors player inside their locker room less than an hour after the game. Next up for Toronto are the Cleveland Cavaliers whom Lowry averaged 31 points per contest against in the regular season.
