DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry followed up one of their worst games with one of their best. Two days after Lowry told reporters he let his team down in a losing effort, the Raptors' star guards showed some bite in a 99-91 win over the Heat that put the team up 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
NBA playoff scores 2016: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan finally look like themselves
The Raptors are up 3-2 and the Warriors are into the Western Conference Finals after Wednesday night in the NBA playoffs.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Now the Raptors are just one victory away from their first trip to the conference finals in franchise history, and it’s largely because their big-name backcourt decided to live up to that billing after struggling in Game 4. “I think I let my team down tonight,” Lowry said Monday. “I take the loss for us, because me not being out there on the floor hurt our team.”
DeRozan and Lowry wouldn’t take the loss again.
In Game 4, both were deserving of blame. DeRozan, who has been dealing with a thumb injury recently, shot 4-of-17 from the field, missed 3-of-4 free throws and failed to record an assist, block or steal. Lowry had 10 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals, but shot just 2-of-11, committed four turnovers and fouled out after just 32 minutes of playing time.
What a difference a couple days makes. In Game 5, DeRozan overcame his recent thumb injury to score 34 points on 11-of-22 shooting, nearly quadrupling his nine-point output from the previous game. The shooting guard hit just 35 percent of his shot attempts in the first four games of this series, so having him put together such a well-rounded scoring performance was just what the doctor ordered.
Lowry was similarly great with 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 41 minutes. His shooting wasn't quite as efficient (9-of-25), but it was timely. This three-pointer off an isolation against Josh Richardson helped put the game away late in the fourth quarter:
That Lowry still has the confidence to make plays like that despite the recent adversity is a big part of why he’s a team leader. DeRozan was crucial in closing out the game, too, by hitting four straight free throws in the final 21 seconds as Miami was trying to drag out the game.
Having those two at their best is always important for the Raptors, but it'll be especially so for the remainder of the postseason. Toronto is already without starting center Jonas Valanciunas due to injury and small forward DeMarre Carroll suffered a wrist injury in Game 5. If Carroll also has to miss time, then DeRozan and Lowry will truly be tested as the focal points of the team.
They survived well enough in those circumstances Wednesday night to get the win. Now they just need one more to make franchise history by meeting Cleveland in the next round.
1 other thing
Warriors finish off Blazers, prepare for real tests
The Blazers are a good team. That's why they were nowhere near good enough to beat the Warriors, a historically great team that's looking to win its second consecutive championship. Golden State put away Portland with a 125-121 win in Game 5 on Wednesday night to complete a 4-1 series win, the second straight by the Warriors that was rarely in doubt. The team's first true challenge this postseason will likely come in the conference finals, where the team will either play the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs.
Golden State will be hoping to polish some things up before then, though. The Blazers looked surprisingly competitive at times during this series, including Wednesday night as they nearly forced the upset before succumbing to one last run. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are the real deal, and Stephen Curry is still shaking off the rust (well, sort of), but it'll be much different when that opposing one-two punch is Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook or Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Luckily the Warriors have still everything that made them so special in the first place. Draymond Green made just two field goals in Game 5, yet he's such a special player that his fingerprints were still all over the win. Curry, meanwhile, is the best closer in all of basketball, even after missing time recently.
That went in, by the way.
Play of the night
Rejecting Dwyane Wade is one thing, but finger wagging the future Hall of Famer like you're Dikembe Mutombo afterwards is what really puts this over the top. Props to Bismack Biyombo.
3 fun things
Scores
Raptors 99, Heat 91 (Raptors HQ recap | Hot Hot Hoops recap)
Warriors 125, Trail Blazers 121 (Golden State Of Mind recap | Blazer's Edge recap)
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Stephen Curry’s MVP season was on another level
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