Of course, we’re all thrilled with the remarkable Bismack Biyombo, but JV’s return would force adjustments to Cleveland’s lineup they would not be happy about.
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Lowry has been the stubborn piece of reality in this series, the toughest guy (non-LeBron division) to stop or even quiet.
Biyombo grabbed 14 rebounds and had three blocks in Toronto’s 105-99 home win over the Cavaliers on Monday, which tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2. In Game 4, the Raptors shocked the Cavs again, and for Kyle Lowry, after playing terribly for the first two games of this series, bounced back and exploded for 35 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
“We feel good”, Thompson said.
The next challenge for Toronto? In the first two wins of Cleveland against Raptors, Kevin Love played great. The Raptors led by 16 at the half.
The Cavaliers were about to take over in the final five minutes of the shocking Game 4.
“Once he gets going, it opens up everything for me on the floor”, said DeRozan of his teammate following the win.
Kyle Lowry No.7 of the Toronto Raptors falls as he shoots in the fourth quarter in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at the Air Canada Center on Tuesday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
“We were solid down the stretch, understanding that when they scored we had to come down and get a bucket”, guard DeRozan said. I kind of get the feeling that’s what they thought before Game 3 – and man, did they ever pay.
Kyrie Irving, 24, hasn’t played his best in the Cavaliers’ last two playoff games against the Toronto Raptors…and Drake, 29, is ALL about it! Channing Frye scored 12 points off the bench and Kevin Love chipped in 10.
The Cavs shot 3 of 14 from the 3-point line in the first quarter before slowly moving away from the 3-point line and attacking the lane. “I go out there and do my job”. The Cavaliers made their first 11 shots of the fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t enough because we got off to a disgusting first half once again in this building and you’re playing catch-up again”, he said of his team’s 57-41 deficit after two quarters.
With just over five minutes of the fourth quarter remaining, Cavaliers had wiped out the deficit and taken a 92-89 lead.
A lack of free throw attempts from the pair was still glaring in the home games, but became less of a factor with DeRozan and Lowry exploding for a combined 52 and 67 points in Games 3 and 4 respectively, compared to a total of 58 in the opening two games.
A long three by Irving made it 101-99 with 2:00 left, but DeRozan answered with a driving bank shot at 1:33. Toronto got the ball back after Biyombo blocked J.R. Smith’s three, and Biyombo kept the possession alive by rebounding Lowry’s missed shot. The Cavs won their first 10 playoff games.
Toronto was comfortably ahead 57-41 at half-time and early in the third led by 18 after another DeRozan basket. What is certain is the Raptors have found a comfort level in facing the Cavs now four games into the series and that is something to pay attention to.
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“The series isn’t over”, Curry told reporters after Game 4.
