For a pair of All-Stars who struggled through numerous first 11 games of these playoffs, both have risen to the occasion the past three games.
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Lowry was sensational for the Raptors, pouring in 35 points including going 5-7 from long-range in the Raptors 116-89 romp over the Miami Heat in Game 7 to give Toronto their first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. Lowry finished with 35 points and nine assists on 11-of-20 shooting. He was shooting worse than 40% in the series headed into Game 7.
“That’s just what he do”, DeRozan said of Lowry. I’m at that point where I just really want to keep playing and growing. While he took more shots (29) than anyone else, he made enough to draw considerable defensive attention. “I’m proud of myself, I’m proud of the guys but this is definitely a tough one to swallow” said Winslow. “Tonight he did”, said Casey. “I’ve been in this thing a long, long time, and I’ve never seen scorers forget”. These are all big questions for the Heat as they enter a big free agency and look to make major improvements as they pursue Kevin Durant.
Casey developed that philosophy over decades of coaching stars as an assistant at the University of Kentucky and the Seattle SuperSonics.
Say it again out loud if you can’t believe it, because, after everything that has happened in these 21 years – from Damon Stoudamire and Isiah Thomas, to Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, to Rafael Araujo and Rob Babcock to Chris Bosh and Bryan Colangelo to Brooklyn and Paul Pierce to Washington and disaster, Masai Ujiri, Dwane Casey and Co. are standing tall. The Heat played just eight players on a shortened rotation, with all eight of them being able to put up points on the board in game 6.
Casey lived with the adage: Dance with who brought you to the party. DeRozan scored 11 and Lowry with 12 in the third.
“I’m a team captain, I’m a leader on this team and I feel like they deserve just as much glory as Kyle and DeMar do”.
As the score became more and more lopsided in Toronto, LeBron James started to change. “Now we know who we’re playing and now we can get focused and now we can lock in on what we’re trying to do”.
Toronto’s Game 7 victory over IN in the first round was a sigh of relief, another first-round exit avoided. For a country. For a city.
ROAD TEST – The Raptors won two of their three meetings with the Cavaliers this season, but both victories came before a raucous crowd at the Air Canada Centre.
How much they actually want them will be determined over the next couple of weeks beginning Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena with an 8:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
REST OR RUST? – While the Raptors needed the maximum 14 games to beat IN and Miami and reach the Eastern Conference final, Cleveland rocketed into the final four by sweeping past Detroit and Atlanta.
The Cavs earned the first seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 57-25 finish in the regular season. Those demons have been vanquished.
The Toronto Raptors overwhelmed the Miami Heat 116-89 in the seventh and final game of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on May 15 in Toronto.
“We look at ourselves as a team that’s going to continue to play hard and grow and go from there and let the chips fall where they may”, Lowry said. “I enjoyed the guys and I had the best time of my life with my teammates this season”.
WE THE NORTH: As a Canadian, Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson understands what Toronto’s playoff run means to a hockey-obsessed nation getting more familiar with the hardwood. 500 ball, a nation’s sporting eyes have been on the Raptors this spring.
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Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 16 points each. That lineup had outscored the Raptors by a combined 17 points in the previous three games.
