After Miami big man Hassan Whiteside failed to bury Toronto at the free throw line just seconds before, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry dribbled the ball up court rather deliberately, then quite calmly aimed, and fired a half-court heave as the regulation buzzer sounded. Lowry then scored back-to-back Raptors baskets, sandwiching a Wade 3-pointer, to give Toronto an 86-83 lead, but Dragic hit a 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds remaining to force overtime.
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Including the miracle halfcourt 3-pointer, Lowry had seven points in the Raptors’ 102-96 loss to the Heat, shooting 3-for-13 from the field and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.
During the regular season, Lowry averaged 21.2 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting, including a career-high 38.8 percent from 3-point range.
Besides playing lockdown defense for almost 40 minutes on the court, Carroll hit clutch shots during various junctures of the game as Raptors bounced back from the overtime loss in Game 1.
Kyle Lowry made a decision to stick around at Air Canada Centre after Tuesday’s loss to the Miami Heat in order to work on his jumpshot, which has failed him throughout the postseason.
By contrast, in their biggest moment, the Raptors must turn to DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, Cory Joseph, and (in Game 1 at least) Terrence Ross. We have our opinions, you guys have y’all opinions, it’s opinions. “As long as we come out with a ‘W, ‘ it really doesn’t matter how we play”. “It’s my first game playing with it hurt, sore like it was. another day of rest and icing and I should be alright the next game”.
“Game 1, you’ve got to be on point”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. He proceeded to shoot 35.8 percent from the field in his next six regular season games. Dwyane Wade had 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots in 37 minutes. “When it goes in, you’re just crushed for a minute”.
“I’ve had a few struggles like this in my National Basketball Association career, but nothing this big”, Lowry said.
Patrick Patterson said the lack of love for the Raptors around the league has been a constant in his three seasons in Toronto.
Heat at Raptors, Miami leads 1-0.
Unbelievable, right? The Raptors managed to come back down six with less than 20 seconds left. “So I’ve got to pick this s– up”.
It took both teams seven games to make the second round, Toronto edging the Pacers 89-84 on Sunday at home, and the Heat beating Charlotte in a 33-point rout.
Carroll scored 12 first-half points, including a nice give-and-go with Valanciunas to round out the half, giving the Raptors a 48-41 lead at the break.
“I feel like if we don’t turn the ball over 20-something times, we’re going to be fine”, Wade said. Joe Johnson, who dominated the Raptors in the playoffs two years ago when he was with Brooklyn, added 16 points. “I know we won’t advance if I don’t play better”, Lowry said Wednesday.
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Miami matched a franchise postseason record with 11 turnovers in the first, leading to 14 Toronto points. He took over the game in overtime. Up 98-92 with:30 seconds left, it seemed Miami had safely weathered one epic collapse in regulation. Last year’s first-round series between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators averaged 3.2 million viewers per game on CBC, according to Sportsnet.
