The Raptors rallied in overtime, giving themselves an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds of the period with a 3-pointer, but they turned it over instead of getting a shot off, and Miami hung on for a 102-96 victory.
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With the Raptors down 90-87 with just over two seconds left on the clock in Game 1 of their second round playoff series against the Miami Heat, Kyle Lowry – the same Lowry that couldn’t buy a basket all game – hit a shot from half-court, tying and sending the game into an improbable overtime.
After Kyle Lowry had a rough night shooting the ball (3-for-13 field goals), he made a decision to get in a late-night shooting session. In Game 1 against the Heat last night, he hit a hero’s shot at the end of regulation to force overtime. I have (been through slumps like this), but not at this time, and that’s what sucks.
The 19,800 fans who watched the Raptors drop Game 1 to the Miami Heat were already gone.
Motivated to improve his shooting, Lowry went back out onto the main court at Air Canada Centre to continue practicing after speaking with the media.
“Throughout my whole career, I’ve always wanted to go against (Dwyane) Wade in a playoff series”.
“We’re a team that will play it out, but we’d like to put more pressure and make a turn of the ball happen”, he said.
Added DeRozan: “I tell him all the time, good or bad, I have the utmost confidence in him”.
Carroll started out guarding Joe Johnson – the guy who led the Brooklyn Nets in scoring when they eliminated the Raptors from the 2014 playoffs. DeRozan and Valanciunas combined for 18 points during the spurt.
“Defensively, I thought the matchups were better for us but I thought the tempo, the pace of the game it created was good for us”, Casey said. “It’s kind of mind-boggling right now, and it’s frustrating, but I’m not going to shy away from the criticism or anything”. “You can’t have some of the mistakes that we made, turning it over”. Valanciunas posted 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting, 12 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and three assists. That’s a far cry from the 21.2 points Lowry averaged during the regular season.
And at least DeRozan showed some signs of shaking loose in Game 1 against Miami. It’s just like a hitter, hitters go through slumps. Toronto could be an issue for the Heat in that department as well; the Raptors outscored Indiana’s bench 34-27 on average in their matchup. But Wade has a sense and a smoothness about him that doesn’t allow him to lose his game.
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Game 3 is Saturday in Portland, and the reigning MVP might be back for that one. Making his way off the floor and into the locker room during the first quarter of the series-opening matchup against the Toronto Raptors, Whiteside is widely regarded as an injury prone player causing some concern going forward.
