“And that’s what we did the times we played them”.
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Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) is hugged by teammate DeMar DeRozan (10) in the final minutes of the game while playing against the Miami Heat during second half round two NBA basketball playoff action in Toronto on Sunday, May 15, 2016.
Regardless of the outcome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors series, no one’s beating the Golden State Warriors this season.
“They’re our guys”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
“For this program from where we started to where we are now, it’s very important”, Casey said. “I think we’ve done everything we’ve set out to do, but we’re not done yet”.
The ultimate goal is an National Basketball Association championship.
The Raptors won two of three against the Cavs this season, but James said “we’re a totally different team than the regular season”. “After he left us, you know, I wanted to see that we could still prove him something”.
Now the Raptors get ready for the Cavaliers, who swept Detroit in the first round and have been resting since May 8, when they capped a second-round sweep of Atlanta.
“They got out on the perimeter, kept guys in front of them and then when the shot went up, they planted their feet and took a stand in the paint and played like big men in the paint”.
“We understood what was at stake”, DeRozan added. I got this series going to six games with the Cavs winning by 4-2, but for Game 1, I have the Cavs to stay red-hot and kick off the series with a double digit win at home. “Nothing is going to be pretty, nothing is going to do the way you want it to go”.
“We tip our hats to the Toronto organization”, Spoelstra said. “You have to respect an organization that has gone through some pain in the playoffs and then to be able to overcome that”.
“It was a heck of a series to be involved with”. If this were a team without a tortured history, you would assume that the game were over; even with this being the Raptors, the lead seemed secure. All the more, Lucas Nogueira comes in for Toronto to score the last points of the game and finally, the buzzer scores and the Toronto Raptors have beaten the Miami Heat, according to the same report. On a day where they needed offensive firepower from their backcourt, getting 16 points a piece from both Wade and Goran Dragic was simply not going to get it done. Joe Johnson (13 points), Luol Deng (12 points) and Justise Winslow (14 points) all battled their way to double-digit efforts, as did Josh McRoberts (10 points) off the bench.
Lowry was a big part of that too as his five in seven attempts helping the Raptors to shoot 9 of 20 from distance, easily its best of the seven games. “We exhausted all of our possibilities. We didn’t get to this point for no reason”.
The Raptors relied on their leaders to win the biggest game in franchise history. The Heat hung around in the first half, punched back after the Raptors went up 17 in the third quarter and got it back to six. He answered the call by scoring 17 points and hauling in 16 rebounds.
Toronto scored 16 fastbreak points to Miami’s 6. They have over the years taken great delight in taking Cleveland to the edge of iconic and delirious moments, only to flip the bird.
Even Terrence Ross got into the act.
Patterson hit two free throws with 7:30 to play and the lead increased to 20 points.
“We came out and we told them (Miami) that we weren’t going to take it any more”, Carroll said.
They combined for 63 points in the Game 7 rout of Miami, with Lowry accounting for 35 points.
NOTES: Heat C Hassan Whiteside (sprained right MCL) made the trip to Toronto with the team but did not play Sunday. Jonas Valanciunas has missed the last four games after spraining his right ankle and his return in these playoffs is uncertain.
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Game 7’s most often come down to who shoots better, and the Raptors shot better. But Toronto is feeling confident after surviving another series, and having won two out of three meetings against Cleveland during the regular season.
