“I’ve done it plenty of times”, Lowry said. “When he was in Charlotte, I hated Biz”. He always went for the pump fake, though, but I hated Biz. I’ve been where the whistle has been in favor of you. A 6-foot-9 African version of Tie Domi. His game is not about finesse and isn’t likely to earn any style points.
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This was a flop by one of the best to ever flop, plain and simple. He’s impossible not to like. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, took a different perspective.
“We still believe in him”. He’s not going to win many popularity contests among his peers and, to his credit, he couldn’t care less. I didn’t know from my own teammate.
“I got a game on Saturday, to turn it around and be more effective, and I will be more effective on Saturday”, Lowry vowed.
“Early on at the start of the game, we weren’t as physical as we should have been, especially coming into a building that we knew we had to be a little more physical”, James said. “But on the floor I don’t have friends”.
James and company have downplayed their winning streak all postseason long and they continue to spin that narrative following another dominant victory on Thursday.
“I’m not trying to sell a call”, James said, when asked about the incident. “I’ve done it countless times”, Lowry reiterated. “That’s it. I was going to say something else to you, but I’m going to leave it alone”. There was no immediate word on what happened to him.
DeRozan had one of his best playoff games yet, shooting 50 per cent from the field. They play well, they play faster. Toronto played a really, really good game.
“It’s big”, DeRozan told ESPN’s Doris Burke of Biyombo’s performance on the broadcast after the game. He can opt out after this season; he will and he’ll more than quadruple his current paycheque.
The Congolese big man made like Usain Bolt to celebrate the last basket. Obviously, we don’t want two of our big guys not to shoot the ball.
Well, the officials were lousy, and LeBron flopped like a fish when he wasn’t flexing like a wrestler, and the Raptors made their stand. Biyombo can’t do this every game, and maybe the Raptors can’t, either. That’s just the bottom line.
The loss means the Cavaliers’ interconference record of 17 straight wins is snapped but the team wouldn’t mind the loss. He was bad enough that he probably should not have logged even 29 minutes.
While the venue will change Saturday, Toronto’s injury situation won’t. Irving (13) and Frye (11) were the only other Cavalier players to score in double figures, while Love finished with just three points.
DeMar DeRozan topped Toronto with 22 points, while Terrence Ross, Cory Joseph and James Johnson chipped in with 11 points apiece. “We will play better”. True to character, he hasn’t backed down.
Tyronn Lue had yet to lose a game in his first National Basketball Association postseason with the Cavaliers, who were 10-0 and looking invincible , threatening to sweep through the Eastern Conference playoffs on the way to a second straight visit to the finals. “They were kicking our butts, so he should have the right to wag his finger”.
Casey said Biyombo also has to deal with physical play.
They’ve never employed anyone like Biyombo.
“Bismack did a great job grabbing rebounds and keeping them off the boards”, DeRozan said. The Raptors showed up determined to get back into the series. Biyombo wanted this game, and he was incredible in it.
“We understand he feeds off the crowd, but he’s also a huge impact on the glass at home”, said James of Biyombo. It’s a new day. “They were more aggressive”.
“It’s over with”, Casey said before the fine. “Those two guys did not like anybody on the opposing jerseys, and that’s the way it should be. Not trying to be dirty, but it’s just how he plays”.
The Cavs were faintly praising Biyombo at night’s end, essentially calling him a homer.
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Biyombo scored six consecutive points after Cleveland pulled within 85-77 in the fourth quarter to doom any comeback ideas. Biyombo has improved and they’ve built trust as teammates. Biyombo dropped in a hook on the next possession off a pass from DeMar DeRozan, and was found by DeRozan for a dunk on the next. Now, he couldn’t be happier to be in the foxhole with him.
