And no one else appeared ready to step up.
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Warriors at Trail Blazers, Golden State leads series 2-0.
The Raptors have been profoundly disappointed by its backcourt throughout this postseason.
In the extra period, it was all Toronto as Miami went scoreless in the overtime period until only 23 seconds remained.
Staying true to form, the Raptors responded with their backs against the wall.
DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors are 4-0 in the 2016 playoffs following a loss. The series moves to Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena for Game 3 on Saturday.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s also a lot of trust, and I give all the credit to coach [Dwane] Casey, because he’s the one that put me out there”, Carroll said.
“If we’re without [Whiteside], we’ve got to have confidence in U.D. and Amar’e and Josh”, Wade said. “Find ways. There are other ways to win the game than shooting the basketball”.
That’s precisely what they did, and it wasn’t just up to DeRozan and Lowry this time around. The Heat committed 4 fouls compared to just one for Toronto, leading to 6 shots from the charity stripe.
Raptors’ DeMarre Carroll is pumped up after scoring two of his game-high 21 points.
But there were plenty of positives, too.
The all-star version of Kyle Lowry has finally emerged. In total, Toronto managed to score 24 points off the turnovers.
The Miami Heat’s postseason has been quite similar to the regular season up until this point in the playoffs.
“It was just him being hungry going after the ball”, DeRozan said of the Lithuanian centre. It’s a grind, honestly. “We know nothing is going to be pretty, but as long as we can come out with the W it doesn’t matter”. Not to be outdone, Luis Scola played five of some of the most disastrous minutes I’ve seen in awhile.
I keep telling you guys the Raptors aren’t a good playoff team, and we’ve won the first two bets of this series fading them. “It was him being hungry, going after the ball”. “It was a must win game”. It was the same knee that he had hurt in Game 1.
“It’s nice to be recognized and get some nice words from your teammates but I guess everybody who stepped on the court did something”, said Valanciunas. While evidence shows that his recent postseasons have been poor, this year’s evidence suggests that Lowry has been taking the right shots, and maybe even passing up on some good ones.
Miami seemed to struggle getting defensive rebounds with Valanciunas grabbing most. Jonas’s been playing really great for us.
Then again, neither the Heat nor the Raptors put on anything that would resemble an offensive showcase in Games 1 or 2.
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The series, which has been a drag to watch overall, loses more of its luster if either center is out significant time, and this also makes the road look that much easier for the Cavaliers, who are now annihilating everything in their path. True to tonight’s form, DeRozan missed both free throws with the game tied.
