The Raptors are weird, y’all

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

WHEW: Kyle Lowry, whose shot has been hideous all postseason, nailed two critical jumpers to keep Toronto alive amid a Heat comeback late. Once in overtime, Toronto survived on the back of Jonas Valanciunas. The series is tied 1-1, and Miami might regret missing a chance to all but end this series on Thursday.

The struggles of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are just mystifying at this point.

KOBE FROM DOWNTOWN: Incredible investigation into how Los Angeles felt about Kobe Bryant as he rode into the sunset by future U.S. Senator Tyler Tynes. That Kobe might be the first NBA star to be so beloved in the Latino community is really interesting.

VOGEL GONE: Larry Bird announced Frank Vogel would not return as the Pacers’ head coach on Thursday. Here’s Zach Lowe on whether it’s the right call for Indiana, and on what led to the dismissal. Bird was one of the meanest players ever, and he’s still cold as hell as an exec. He basically told the world Vogel begged to keep his job for 30 minutes!

Meanwhile, Ken Berger has some names who top the Pacers’ target list.

SCORE GALORE ...

MIA 92, TOR 96 (OT)

ON THE AIR TONIGHT ...

Cavaliers at Hawks, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, CLE leads 2-0
Spurs at Thunder, 9:30 p.m., ESPN, Series tied 1-1

RANDY MOSS FOR A NEW AGE: MJ Walker is a top-10 class of 2017 basketball recruit, a five-star two-guard out of Georgia. He played one season of high school football, as well, having grown up playing the sport. That season was good enough for Jim Harbaugh to offer him a spot at Michigan. But Walker has chosen basketball.

AND 1: Here’s Kevin O’Connor’s draft breakdown of Timothe Luwawu, the type of wing every team wants.

I’M MIKE D AND I GET RESPECT: I wrote about whether Mike D’Antoni can be successful in the NBA again.

THE BEST TRAGIC BUZZER BEATERS IN HISTORY. Yes, Kyle Lowry’s Game 1 heave is up there.

MAD CITY: The Hawks claim they are not mad about the Cavaliers stunting on them and breaking records. THEY ARE SO MAD.

SAD: Iman Shumpert has (temporarily, we hope) turned Mike Muscala’s career highlight into getting dunked on. Timofey Mozgov survived it!

UHHH ... It appears some in the NBA are trying to make intentional foul reform much more difficult than it needs to be with bizarre ideas like “intentional foul zones” and the “super bonus.” This is so simple!

SEASON OF PAIN: Tim Kawakami on what Steve Kerr has been through this season.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: Great Kate Fagan story on Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner in Russia, making money and escaping notice.

IN THE MOST HILARIOUS USE OF NOSTALGIA THIS YEAR ... Henry Bibby promises his son Mike would be an assistant coach if the Kings hire him. Bibby The Elder is an off-and-on assistant NBA coach who hasn’t worked since 2014, is 66 and has never been an NBA head coach. Come on, y’all.

AND FINALLY: Kevin Arnovitz’s “Which NBA team are you?” quiz was all the rage on Thursday. I’m the Miami Heat. And not just because I give myself nicknames.

Happy Friday. See you next time.