Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry gestures as he’s taken out of the game during the second half of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat in Toronto, Sunday, May 15, 2016. He had every part of his game clicking, and finished with 35 points on 55 percent shooting from the field and 8-for-11 from the line. When he wasn’t scoring, he was setting up his teammates with nine assists and he added seven rebounds.
Advertisement
In typical Pat Riley fashion the Miami Heat team plane departs for Cleveland after the game to give players the clear message on what he expects next.
The good news is Miami found out that their star Dwyane Wade still has a lot left in his tank.
Wade definitely looked as though his 12th game in 24 days took its toll. That’s something we have to keep in mind: just go out there and play tough.
But DeRozan was still largely inefficient and the Raptors’ effective field goal percentage on Sunday (51.2 percent) was still barely above average. Biyombo scored 17 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and added an assist and two blocked shots. It had not happened except in stretches, but the Raptors reminded the world why it was the East’s second best regular season team. In a win-or-go-home scenario, the loose ball battle is critical. The team also had only had five turnovers to the Heat’s 11, after the first quarter. And again, the Raptors started big.
The Raptors led at the end of the first quarter, 25-24.
He took 12 shots the rest of the way, finishing with 28 points.
“I went back and watched that game two nights ago”, Lue said after practice Saturday at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Toronto is now 7-1 when DeRozan attempts at least seven free throws, 1-5 otherwise.
CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James once stood in Kyle Lowry’s sneakers. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley have dished their fair share of criticism for the Toronto guard’s struggles, questioning his status as a big time player.
They finally hit on all cylinders early in the third quarter.
3-Point Goals-Miami 7-25 (Winslow 2-3, Wade 2-4, T.Johnson 1-2, J.Johnson 1-3, Richardson 1-3, Green 0-1, McRoberts 0-1, Deng 0-3, Dragic 0-5), Toronto 9-20 (Lowry 5-7, Carroll 2-2, Ross 2-4, DeRozan 0-1, Joseph 0-1, Powell 0-1, Patterson 0-4). For the first time since 2001, The Raptors had the best player in the series. The Raptors hadn’t advanced to the second round in 15 years.
There were many moments of angst and times of doubt.
He says he can identify with long-suffering Raptors fans because he once was one of them.
It was a seven-game drag ’em out series that featured a slew of injuries and had coach Dwane Casey comparing it to a boxing match. I thought they both stepped up at the right time, at the right game at the right place. “And that’s what you kind of need to get through a Game 7 is someone who Miami probably hasn’t prepared for, someone to step out of the box and do something spectacular”.
“They brought us here”, Joseph said. Lowry did a tremendous job of making him work on both ends of the floor.
Looking back, he agreed with Casey.
Let’s break down the biggest win in franchise history.
But without some sort of clarity on Bosh, it’s going to be tough for Miami to move forward. “They’re such a great transition team, such a great pick and roll team that if you try to stop everything, you can’t stop anything”.
Kyle Lowry (19.4) and DeMar DeRozan (17.4) make up most of the Raptors’ offensive postseason production.
“Today, the better team won”. “We’re not done yet. To cancel him out for the entire series, I don’t know”.
Advertisement
“When we play Cleveland in the regular season, we were able to match up very well”, centre Bismack Biyombo said. “If you’re not focused now, hey, I don’t know if this is the right sport for you”. He had to lay all his chips on the table for Game 6, and while it may have extended the series, the final result came with a sense of inevitability.
