The last time Toronto had a series lead in the postseason was two years ago when they went up 3-2 against Brooklyn. The numbers are glaring.
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Mason Plumlee had six points, 21 rebounds and nine assists for Portland, which hosts Game 4 on Monday night.
That was the complete opposite of game three, when the Raptors built a 23 point lead in the second quarter and cruised to victory. On Sunday he admitted what most have already pieced together from watching: many of those shots were rushed.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Toronto. What they call strategy some might call torture, but perhaps that’s their punishment for a truly embarrassing effort, a missed opportunity to take a stranglehold of the series. He talked about screens and movement and techniques to help Lowry and DeRozan find space. Indy shot 56 percent from the field while Toronto shot 43 percent. Again, DeMar DeRozan will struggle all night and continue his shooting slump. With that kind of performance from the two stars, it’s a wonder the Raptors haven’t been swept by now. The season before that, they shot 39 per cent in the Brooklyn series.
It’s an overused cliché that in the playoffs you need you best players to be your best players.
But Charlotte withstood the early Heat assault and took the lead near the end of the first quarter behind eight points from Lin, who found his way to the basket repeatedly and drew a second foul on Whiteside.
Enes Kanter had his second straight playoff career high with 28 points for the Thunder, who never trailed in two games in Dallas after the Mavericks evened the series with a one-point win in Oklahoma City following a 38-point loss in the opener.
“Everybody has to be a scoring option for us, and today they were”, said Paul George, who scored 19 points for the Pacers. DeRozan is capable of influencing the game in different ways but, historically, he hasn’t shown that same level of recognition.
That’s what happens when role players like Hill and Mahinmi step up.
Only a few weeks ago, the Raptors weren’t sure if Carroll would even be in the lineup for the first round, let alone back in the starting role as the chief defensive stopper that Masai Ujiri and his staff had envisioned when Carroll was signed last summer. Those are simply bad statistics for a playoff-caliber team, especially one that is going up against a team that has as much depth as the Raptors.
“Tonight was a good game”, said Mahinmi, “but it doesn’t mean next game we’re going to win by 20”. “It may not be by scoring points, it may be by moving the basketball, it may be by helping defensively”. We’ve talked about that, he may have to be a facilitator.
When asked after the game what the Raptors can do to change their fate, Lowry was blunt: “Make some shots”. “Ian played unbelievable. You don’t expect 22, 10 and five from him”. I wish it was the old days, you know? “But I’m not gonna shy away from taking them, and I feel like the same thing with DeMar”.
Former Pacer Luis Scola continued to be a non-factor this series as he had only a single point, shooting 0-for-5 from the field during the game and leaving many wondering as to why Raptors coach Dwane Casey hasn’t opted to start Patrick Patterson in place of Scola yet. The Raptors shot 42 per cent on wide-open threes in the regular season. “They rebounded and ran out when they got the lead and keep going”. “I don’t think we played in a desperate mode (on Saturday)”.
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After two deflating defeats in Miami, the Hornets fed off their home crowd to trim the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series to 2-1.
