Kyle Lowry returns, Raptors lose to Heat 116-108 in a Jimmy Butler throwback game

Under .500 again, but still 5th in the East somehow.

(Photo via Raptors official Instagram account)

To start, check out the excellent and detailed analysis provided by Oren and Sahal in the The Rap Up:

For the fifth time this season, the Toronto Raptors lost on the second night of a back-to-back. This time at the hands of the surging Miami Heat, who have won 8 of its last 11 games. Toronto was 9-3 in back-to-backs during their championship campaign and 8-3 last season, but only 1-5 in these weird times. This was a clash between two teams who started slow, are better than their current records state, and should be firmly in the playoff picture when it’s all settled.

Kyle Lowry returned after missing four games with his left thumb wrapped up in a way that brought back memories of May and June 2019. If you’re in the Kevin Garnett “anything is possible” boat who runs with any omen you can find? There you go.

Lowry was simply brilliant from the jump. He mixed up his drives with in rhythm threes for 12 first quarter and 17 first half points. He found teammates for easy baskets. After Toronto trailed by 10 at halftime, Lowry keyed a 12-2 run, capped by a hard stop, midrange turnaround jumper over Jimmy Butler to beat the shot clock. The type of Lowry shot that makes “KLOE” start trending on twitter. That was the last of Lowry’s 24 points but they came on an efficient 9-13 from the field.

“It hurt a little bit,” Lowry said about his thumb to reporters after the game. “I hit my thumb too many times but in that situation, it’s going to take some bumps and bruises. It’s gonna hurt.”

Here’s a couple Lowry clips to give you a taste of what he was all about tonight:

More on Butler later.

Lowry’s backcourt mate was just as solid. Fred VanVleet has developed a knack for knocking down “do something!” shots. Times where he gets the ball with about five seconds left on the shot clock with nothing happening. He made one from the KIA logo near the hash mark in the first quarter, with Miami rotating in its zone for one of the Raptors 20 three pointers. Fred also slipped, got back to his feet, and tossed up a contested 20-footer to beat the third quarter buzzer. VanVleet matched Lowry with 24 points.

Miami’s aggressive 2-3 zone defense caused the Raptors to hesitate and the ball over too often, especially when lesser shooters were on the floor. Instead of softening the zone through attacking it (e.g., by running pick ‘n rolls against the 2 in the 2-3), Toronto was seduced into taking 44 threes, 4 above their average. They did hit at a 45% clip, but Miami was comfortable sitting back and collecting defensive rebounds which allowed them to control the tempo of the game, offsetting Toronto’s desire for a faster game. Toronto only had 3 offensive rebounds all night (compared to Miami’s 11).

On the flip side, this wasn’t a banner game for Pascal Siakam. Coming off 40-plus minutes played in both games against Philadelphia and playing five games in seven nights overall, Pascal lacked aggression. He only attempted six shots for five points total. That’s his lowest output since December 2018. Siakam also committed four fouls before halftime. Bam Adebayo spun around Pascal for a dunk mid third quarter to put the Heat up eight, and Nick Nurse subbed in Aron Baynes two minutes later. Siakam didn’t check back in for the last 15:17 of the game.

“We had a group that was hanging in good, making some runs,” Nurse explained. “It’s tough on a back-to-back. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often where you have to go a little different from your normal rotation.”

Still, the Raptors battled a couple double digit deficits valiantly. The small ball line-up with Boucher in instead of Siakam made it a 100-98 game with just over 5 minutes left, thanks to a Norman Powell three. Starter Norm had another solid game with 17 points off 6-11 shooting.

I said I’d get back to Butler.

Remember the “Jimmy Buckets” version that would terrorize the Raptors back in his Chicago days? Not so fond memories like Butler scoring 40 of 42 points a single half for a comeback win against Toronto in 2016 come to mind. If that wasn’t enough, he put up 42 again in another Bulls win nearly a calendar year later. He was a big part of the reason Chicago defeated the Raptors 11 straight times over a span of four seasons. And those Raptors were still playoff bound annually at the time.

Well, we haven’t seen that version of Butler in a while. But he re-introduced himself to Raptors fans like Undertaker randomly sitting up in the ring. How’s this for a five-minute stretch? A catch and shoot three. A steal and coast to coast layup. Let’s mix in a transition pull-up trey. This is a good time to remind folks that Butler came into this game 4-25 behind the arc all season long. Good for 16 percent. He went 3-4 from deep in this game alone. Add a contested 15-footer over OG Anunoby and four free throws for good measure. That’s 14 of his 27 points in winning time.

Ball game.

Butler’s jumper has mysteriously deserted him for long stretches during his Heat tenure, but you couldn’t tell with the game on the line. He’s also become triple-double friendly lately. He’s had four of them in Miami’s 8-3 stretch. Jimmy was 2 rebounds away from another one vs Toronto.

Let’s quickly look at the big picture though. This is the second time in as many days that the Raptors lost and still remain the fifth seed. The East is getting comical to unprecedented levels. With the Pacers also losing to the Warriors, only three teams in the conference are over .500. Two games separate the 4th and 11th seeds.

The second half of the NBA season was released on Wednesday. The first half of that portion is littered with winnable games. The second half? Brooklyn, Denver, Utah and both L.A. teams await a terrifying five game stretch late April. The last four of those are on the road. There are eight back-to-backs scheduled ahead.

With the current East turmoil going on – Boston is now 10th? – the 2nd half of the season will be must-see TV. Regardless of how it plays out.

Fun times ahead.

Cover Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

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