https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiFs1kwDej0
My game notes from Raptors-Cavaliers. #RTZ #NBA pic.twitter.com/M5KODG5h7F
— William Lou (@william_lou) February 27, 2016
Kyle Lowry’s career-high 43 points lifts Raptors over Cavaliers
“It’s never a surprise for me,” DeRozan said of Lowry’s career-night and game-winning basket that propelled Toronto to a 99-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a taught, tense, emotional night. “It’s more entertaining to watch, because I feel like I have the luxury to say that’s my point guard, to (be) able to watch him do things like that, and make it seem so effortless and lead us to a victory.”
It’s hard to overstate what Lowry did as the Raptors won a record-setting 10th straight game at home and moved to within two games of Cleveland for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Raptors’ Joseph’s emergence has surprised even his own teammates | Basketball |
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About two minutes into the second quarter of Friday’s game against Cleveland, Raptors guard Cory Joseph passed his career high for minutes played in a single season.
The increased workload hasn’t worn him out. Actually, Joseph has never played better and has been a key reason why the team has a comfortable grip on second place in the Eastern Conference.
Joseph is posting career-highs in nearly every category and has powered the NBA’s third-best bench, mixing steady offensive play with outstanding defence.
“He’s one of the most tenacious defenders in our league, on the ball,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said of Joseph earlier Friday.
Teammate Patrick Patterson knew Joseph could defend, having seen his work in limited minutes in San Antonio, but Joseph’s all-around game has been eye-opening.
“All I knew about was his defence, his ferociousness on the ball, causing havoc and making the guard uncomfortable there on the perimeter,” Patterson said.
“And his toughness, you have to be tough to play for (Gregg Popovich) and I was aware of that. But his (abilities) on the offensive side of the court, I wasn’t aware of. Him just doing it game in and game out has been extremely impressive and it has helped us quite a bit.”
The good and bad in Raptors’ big win over Cavaliers
The Raptors have played in a lot of tight games this year but have had only a few — this one and the Golden State Warriors’ visit in December immediately jump out — that felt like really big games. It’s a rare stage for a team trying to get to that next level in their development, and it can’t be simulated. No matter how much staying even keel and leaving the last game behind them is stressed, this win is huge in the Raptors, who made a statement to the Cavs and the league. Friday’s win is a good step forward, but is only a sample of what every night will be like in the post-season. More games like this between now and April would certainly help.
Final score: Cavs fall to Raptors 99-97 – Fear The Sword
My dad, contrary to how I was feeling during this game, wasn’t one to worry. “You guys get so worked about a February game! It’s one game in the course of an 82-game schedule — nothing has changed from before the game to after the game, other than we lost and they won.”
As often as that comment is made about regular season games, it’s a reminder that you can’t get worked up about these types of games. Yes the Toronto Raptors, the No. 2 seed in the East, won a game against the top seed in the East. Yes, the Cavs dominated the majority of this game and somehow ended up losing. Yes, Kyle Lowry slashed (and got some help from the officials) the Cavs defense for a career-high 43 points, including the game-winning jumper with 3.9 seconds.
Yet for all that seemingly went wrong for the Cavs and cost them a chance to lengthen their lead in the East, a lot of things still went right for them. They did dominate for most of the game, and for almost all of the second half, holding multiple double-digit leads in the second half, including a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.
Lowry leads Raptors over James, Cavaliers – Stats & Info- ESPN
LeBron James scored 25 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, but he missed a possible game-winning three-point field goal as time expired in the loss.
James is now 1-for-5 on possible game-tying or go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime this season, and 5-for-47 in the last ten seasons. Among players with at least 25 attempts, his 10.6 field goal percentage in such situations is the second worst in the NBA over the last ten seasons, ahead of only Jamal Crawford.
It’s the 16th time in his career that James missed a potential go-ahead three-point field goal in the final five seconds, most in the NBA in that span.
A night to remember as Kyle Lowry carries Raptors past Cavs | Raptors | Sports |
Lowry danced and scored and lifted and left nothing left for chance in a season in which he isn’t exerting himself the way he did in a year he’s making sure he doesn’t wear down. And, fittingly, it was Lowry who hit the winning jumper, a 22-footer just a few inches away from a three-pointer, enough to provide his team with a 99-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone’s choice to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
Does this mean the Raptors, now two games behind Cleveland, are ready to take on the Cavaliers come playoff time?
Probably not. LeBron James was occasionally great and occasionally disinterested on Friday night. At times, he played as though the Raptors had no answer for him. And, at times, he seemed to tune out the way the best players tune out in an NBA game in the dog days of late February.
But the ball was in King James’ hands, in position to either tie it or win in the final seconds. The ball was there. Cory Joseph was on him. LeBron didn’t toss up the game’s winning bucket. He threw a rare air ball.
Johnson going to Heat is a good thing for Raptors | Basketball | Sports | Toront
Van Gundy thinks people are sleeping on the Raptors.
“Toronto is the most underrated team in basketball right now because everybody, instead of focusing on how great a regular season they are having, is focussing on the last two playoff series, which they lost, when they were the higher-seeded team.” Van Gundy said on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Friday.
“I think that’s doing a disservice to how good Toronto is. Their backcourt has played exceptionally well. They do have, I think an issue at the power forward spot, quickness-wise defensively I think (Luis) Scola’s a tremendous professional, hard-playing, but I think that can be a negative when you start running pick and rolls for LeBron James and Kevin Love (and have to defend it).
Raptors look at home in LeBron’s neighbourhood: Arthur
“I can’t even say we gave it away. They took it away from us,” Smith said. “Being No. 1 and No. 2 in the East, that means a lot. We came in treating this like a potential Eastern Conference finals game. We just didn’t have that mindset throughout the whole game.
Slow down on the conference final, but Toronto entered the evening three games out of the top spot in the East, and the Cavaliers are the big dog with the big dogs. The Raptors may be renting while the Cavaliers own, but for most of the franchise’s history, the Raptors don’t even visit this neighbourhood. Some games have results, and some games have implications.
Game Rap: Raptors 99, Cavaliers 97 | Toronto Raptors
“I wouldn’t call it a statement. I’d call it, more so, us going out there and competing. Showing we can compete with the best teams in the league. Not necessarily a statement game because we think we’re one of the top teams in the league as well. It was one of those games that we knew was going to be hard fought and we’re happy we got the win.”
– DeMar DeRozan on what the win means for the team
3. They eased up. They stopped defending the pick-and-roll. (Actually they never started defending it). Kyrie Irving was put on a spit by Kyle Lowry and turned and turned and turned over and over and over. Lowry made some terrific shots, but he also found little resistance in getting to his spots on the floor. That’s on Irving, whose on-ball defense has deteriorated from bad to worse.
4. On a night DeMar DeRozan struggled while playing through flu-like symptoms and the Raptors received nothing from their front court, they still managed to erase a 14-point deficit over the game’s final 16 minutes because Lowry kept coming. Read carefully and you’ll understand why.
5. “Down the stretch Kyle Lowry took over the game,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “That’s the second time he’s done that to us, so going forward we’ve got to get somebody that can guard him.”
Kyle Lowry rises above to deliver Raptors win over Cavaliers | Eh Game – Yahoo Sports Canada
It was going to take more than Matthew Dellavedova’s outstretched arm to stop this shot from going in. Lowry’s stone-cold jumper gave him a career-high 43 points on the night and more importantly, put the Raptors up on the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-97 with 3.8 seconds left.
The crowd roared in delight, but Lowry reacted like it was an everyday occurrence – even though he admitted after the game it was his first game-winner since his days at Villanova – only showing some emotion when greeted at the bench by his jubilant teammates.
Lowry authors possibly the best regular-season effort in Raptors history – Sportsnet.ca
“That’s what all-stars do,” said James, of Lowry. “He had a hell of a game.”
The win was as meaningful as a regular-season game can be at this stage of the year.
The Raptors improved to 39-18 and won the season series against the Cavaliers, 2-1, which may prove crucial now that they are just two games behind Cleveland in the race for the first seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Raptors have made a point of not getting too carried away with their successes, which keep coming in a season that is shaping up to be historic for a team that is shy on history.
They believe getting too carried away with their success a year ago cost them as they stumbled down the stretch and crumbled in the playoffs.
