Miami Heat 102 – Raptors 96 [OT]: just 1 miracle
By Brian Boake
The Raptors wiped out a late Miami lead, and tied the game on a crazy 3-ball. However, it was the Heat which scored the first eight points of overtime, and that lead proved too much to overcome.
[All photos today courtesy of Jameson Boake]
Kyle Lowry had endured another miserable shooting night, but almost made up for it with a half-court shot (it wasn’t a heave – I was there) that hit nothing but net after the Q4 buzzer. Unbelievably we were going to OT after being down six points with 19 seconds to play. Fans of sporting miracles, and of the Toronto Raptors, did not enjoy a wonderful ending. The Heat shut down the Raptors offense in extra time, as they had so often during the first 48 minutes, and stole the match.
Fans of sporting miracles, and of the Toronto Raptors, did not enjoy a wonderful ending. The Heat shut down the Raptors offense in extra time, as they had so often during the first 48 minutes, and stole the match.
This game felt like a continuation of the Indiana Pacers series. The Raptors defended with vigor and energy, and tried to get everyone involved in the offense. However, only a few of our players took advantage. Toronto shooting continued dismal, as Lowry, who’s in a dreadful funk, missed open looks from beyond the arc. Miami was barely covering him on those.
In fact, the loss can be encapsulated with the long ball stats: Miami took 11 and made 8, while our guys tried 21 and hit 5.
The hoped-for balanced scoring didn’t materialize for the Raptors. While Terrence Ross may have played himself back into the starting mix with a 19-point performance, he was the only pleasant surprise. DeMar DeRozan was firing away from everywhere (he took almost a quarter of our shots) but could only manage 22 points, and missed both free throws on and-1 chances late in Q4. Norman Powell did get the start, and defended with poise, but left all but one of his shots short.
Patrick Patterson came off the bench, which is supposed to be how he’s comfortable. Not this night – he had 1 bucket and 3 boards in 18+ minutes.
Jonas Valanciunas was manhandled by the ungentle body of Hassan Whiteside. Our centre acquitted himself well, leading the team in scoring with 24 points and grabbing 14 defensive boards. There were few offensive boards to be had with Whiteside roaming the paint. Fifteen of his 17 rebounds were defensive.
With Lowry floundering, and the refs having swallowed their whistles (the Raptors had 15 free throws in 53 minutes, in a game which frequently resembled Stanley Cup hockey), Toronto’s usual offensive flow wasn’t evident. Miami struggled to score early, missing a number of near-bunnies, otherwise this game might have been out of reach in a hurry.
Goran Dragic was probably their worst culprit for easy misses, but he didn’t fold, and gave Toronto much grief in the second half. Dwyane Wade was the biggest problem for our team, not just scoring but with his ball-hawking. He had two critical steals in OT, the second of which snuffed out the Raptors’ last chance for another miracle. These two combined for 50 points.
Game Two of what looks to be an exciting series tips off Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre, which will be rocking once again.