“Even though he didn’t shoot the ball well, he was effective down the stretch”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
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Perhaps the Raptors can overcome the clear limitation of the team’s best player - they played the Heat close Tuesday without much of a contribution before the hail mary shot fell.
There’s something wrong with Kyle Lowry.
And yet on a night when he couldn’t hit a barn door, Lowry amazingly sank a Hail Mary from halfcourt with no time remaining to force overtime. Up until the final tick of regulation time Tuesday, he had more fouls (five) than points (four). He had just six assists.
“It sucks that I’m playing this bad”, Lowry said.
After the Raptors’ Terrence Ross sunk a three-pointer with 6.5 seconds to go to trim the Heat’s lead to 89-86, Luol Deng’s ensuing inbounds pass intended for Wade went awry and nothing but trouble ensued for Miami. That type of predictable offense might produce results on any given night, but isn’t sustainable over a seven game series.
That would end up being Lowry’s only three-pointer of the game, as he shot 3-13 from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. He said the next day the Raptors can’t win the series without him playing well.
“I know the pressure I put on myself”.
“I hit the inside of my knee on the floor, on the bone”, he said. It’s like a hitter – hitters go through slumps – and he’s there.
Powell and Patterson each had two points, Bismack Biyombo was scoreless and Cory Joseph was held to 10. Wade wouldn’t have it however and managed to pry the ball away from DeMar DeRozan for the breakaway dunk to clinch the victory and homecourt advantage for the series.
“I know I’m not playing well at all”. We can build on this game.
Lowry went 3-for-13 in the game, including 1-for-7 from three-point range, for seven points.
Toronto now looks ahead to a pivotal Game 2 on Thursday, with Miami having the chance to take a 2-0 lead while starting the series on the road. The Heat and Raptors shot an identical 45 percent from the field.
Prior to arriving in Miami before the start of last season, Whiteside appeared in a total of 19 regular season games for the Sacramento Kings between 2010 and 2012. “We don’t look at it like it’s hard, we look at it like things we can clean up and get better at”. Just like in Round 1, the Raptors have provided office and pre-game space to the opposition with a place in the Maple Leafs dressing room. Bosh has been sidelined since the All-Star break because a blood clot was found in his left leg….
The game was played against a Maple Leaf background of red and white-clad fans, including 17-year NFL veteran Tony Gonzalez, who chucked footballs high up into the crowd during a timeout.
For Toronto Jonas Valanciunas scored a team-high 24 points and 14 rebounds while DeRozan added 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. With 11 turnovers combined in the opening frame, the score was tied at 18 over one.
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Such performances will swell the National Basketball Association rumors that both could be on their way out of the Toronto Raptors this coming summer, via free agency for DeRozan and via a trade for Lowry.
