Raptors fade as Wade turns up the Heat
MIAMI 94 TORONTO 87 (OT) (Series tied 2-2)
MIAMI — With no Jonas Valanciunas and virtually no DeMar DeRozan, the last thing the Toronto Raptors needed was to lose Kyle Lowry.
But Lowry had to watch from the bench after fouling out as the Raptors dropped a 94-87 decision to the Miami Heat in overtime on Monday, that evened the Eastern Conference semifinals at two wins apiece.
And moments after the loss, the Raptors point guard took the blame squarely on himself.
“I can’t be in foul trouble, I think I let my team down tonight,” Lowry said. “I take the loss for us, because me not being out there on the floor hurt our team.”
Dwyane Wade poured in 30 points, including an emphatic dunk to end overtime, to lead the Heat.
Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph had 14 points apiece for Toronto, which is without starting centre Valanciunas for the remainder of this series. Bismack Biyombo had 13 points and 13 rebounds, while DeMarre Carroll chipped in with 13 points.
As big a blow as the loss of Valanciunas is, DeRozan’s thumb injury led to one of his worst games as a Raptor. He shot just 4-for-17 for nine points, and he and Lowry, who had 10 points before fouling out with 1:58 to play, shot a combined 6-for-28 on the night.
“It’s the feeling of being uncomfortable, and not doing the things that you normally do with gripping the ball and everything,” said DeRozan, who jammed his right thumb late in Game 1. “I think the missed layup [in the first quarter] showed me how much I have to deal with it, but it’s nothing I’ll ever make an excuse about.”
For the third time in this rollercoaster series, that has felt more like a heavyweight fight at times, the game needed overtime.
And it was ugly. With a mishmash of lineups, the Raptors looked headed for a blowout loss with their 29 per cent scoring in the first half. But they opened the third quarter with a 17-4 run and took a 62-60 lead into the fourth quarter. Ross drilled two threes to put Toronto up by nine points with six-and-a-half minutes on the clock.
Wade promptly led a comeback that would pull the Heat within two points with just over a minute to play. Then with 12.6 seconds on the clock, the Heat star drove to the hoop, and his basket sent the game into extra time.
“You have two competitive teams that are going and close to equal talent-wise,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. “These are two tough-minded teams.”
With Lowry on the bench, the Raptors could do nothing right in OT. Joseph and DeRozan scored the team’s only baskets, and Wade swiped a Raptors turnover in the final seconds for a dunk that sealed the Heat’s victory.
“I don’t think there was any doubt that this game was going to go into overtime,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.