FIVE MOMENTS THAT MATTERED:
Game 1 twists and turning points
Valanciunas starts strong
What many thought the key matchup in the series started off in the Raptors’ favour. Jonas Valanciunas had 10 first-quarter points, three rebounds and a blocked shot as he had his way with Miami centre Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside’s night and knee took a turn with five minutes left in the quarter when he was tangled up with Valanciunas and hit the floor awkwardly. He left the game, was diagnosed with a strained right knee and returned in the second quarter. Whiteside played almost 35 minutes, but Valanciunas’s superb defensive effort, along with 22 points and 12 rebounds, neutralized him.
T-Ross comes in hot
Coming in off of a five-minute, scoreless showing in Game 7 against Indiana, Terrence Ross had a lot of post-season ground to make up for. He’d yet to hit double digits and aside from a sparse few threes (he’d made eight in the seven-game series against Indiana), hadn’t made a significant impact in a game yet. That changed when he checked into Game 1 on Tuesday. Ross started 4-for-5 from the field and had 11 points in 14:18. His steal and breakaway dunk late in the third quarter gave him a playoff career-high of 13 points, part of a 19-point night. He missed a free throw with four seconds left that could have cut Miami’s lead to one.
Lowry and his shooting woes
Averaging 13.9 points through the first round, the Raptors’ hope was that a different cast of defenders might make life easier on offence for Kyle Lowry. With his former Houston Rockets teammate Goran Dragic checking him, that wasn’t the case. Lowry was scoreless through the first half and didn’t make his first basket until 4:42 of the third quarter. Sitting at 2-for-11 on the night, and his team lucky to be down three in the dying seconds of the game, Lowry almost turned the ball over before heaving it from half-court. His team went to overtime with him at 3-of-12 and a shot at winning.
Dragic delivers
While Lowry struggled, Dragic played a smooth, competent game. He picked his spots running Miami’s offence, sticking short jumpers in a tight game. He poured it on in the third quarter, scoring 10 points and capping his burst with a three-pointer that helped Miami stretch its lead to 10 early in the fourth. The longer and deeper that Lowry’s struggles went, Dragic continued to elevate. His three out of the corner with 40 seconds remaining extended the Heat’s lead to five and gave him 26 points, seemingly sealing the series-opening win for Miami.
DeRozan tries to pick up the slack
With Lowry lost, DeRozan turned it up in the final minutes of the fourth to try and get the Raptors back in the game. They chipped into Miami’s 10-point lead with 6:53 left, and DeRozan’s back-to-back threepoint plays (he missed the back end of both) had Toronto down 83-79 with 2:30 to go. He had a layup blocked, then missed a jumper with 1:27 left, leaving him at 20 points, five rebounds and four assists on the night.