Miami led 86-81 after a 3 by Dragic with 40 seconds left, but Toronto trimmed the deficit to 89-86 on a 3 by Ross with 6.5 seconds remaining.
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Dwyane Wade leads the postseason in fourth-quarter usage rate, using 44.0 percent of the Heat’s possessions in the final period. The Raptors led the season series 3-1 and the playoff series is tied at 0-0.
Things got off to a sloppy start for both teams on Tuesday night.
Miami opened overtime on an 8-0 run and hung on for the victory. DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while Terrence Ross added 19 points off the bench. Joe Johnson had 16 points and seven boards, and Hassan Whiteside accumulated nine points, 17 rebounds and two steals. Miami also outscored them 13-4 in second points.
Game one of the series is slated to take place on Tuesday, May 3rd, at the Air Canada Center in Toronto. He missed all four of his field-goal attempts in the first half and had a lone assist, which didn’t come until late in the second quarter.
On a night the Toronto Raptors played poorly, they very almost pulled off a victory after Kyle Lowry’s long-distance buzzer-beater forced overtime.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go well for the Raptors in the extra session.
In what’s been a roller-coaster post-season for the Toronto Raptors, Game 1 versus Miami was the wildest ride yet.
I dont want them to be relaxed, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. Toronto went small to start the game with rookie Norman Powell sliding into the starting five alongside Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas.
“JV might be shooting a few more jump shots than we normally would see because that’s just the shots Whiteside gives up”, Lowry said.
The most memorable three of Game 1 was of course Lowry’s half-court shot at the end of regulation. Whiteside played nearly 35 minutes, but Valanciunas’s superb defensive effort, along with 22 points and 12 rebounds, neutralized him. He also had a team-high three turnovers.
“It’s going to be another hard-fought series”, DeRozan said.
Both teams looked much better in the second half, playing with more intensity and objective.
Casey said he thought his team was unable to handle an “ambush” from the Pacers in this year’s Game 1, but that they should be better prepared tonight. But again, we have to believe in him; we do believe in him.
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Perhaps more importantly, George took another step in becoming the unquestioned leader by challenging himself and his teammates to do more throughout the series against Toronto. Miami F Dorell Wright and Raptors G Delon Wright became the first brothers to face one another in a playoff series since G Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans) and G Justin Holiday (Golden State Warriors) met in April 2015. But did that not feel like a game they should have won? It was definitely a touchy-feely game. They really are looking for me to keep going and keep pushing. “We just need to clean up some situations that we created on ourselves to make sure that we take advantage of the next game”. “And it’s a different type of offence with us playing DC at the 4 and Norm at the 3, it’s kind of a different offence for us”. Whereas Indiana thrives off forcing turnovers and running from there, the Heat play more conservatively, instead pushing off of stops and in semi-transition, letting Dragic get into the teeth and causing chaos from initial breakdowns. His aggressive play, in stark contrast to Lowry, was the difference in the game.
