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Game Rap: Raptors 96, Heat 102

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

IT WAS OVER WHEN

Dwyane Wade stole the ball from DeMar DeRozan with 4.9 seconds remaining and the Raptors down by three. Wade dunked the ball and was fouled, sealing the 102-96 Heat victory with a free throw. The win gives Miami a 1-0 series lead.

EVEN FIRST QUARTER

Things got off to a sloppy start for both teams on Tuesday night. With 11 turnovers combined in the opening frame, the score was tied at 18 over one. DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas led the way for Toronto, scoring all 18 of the teams points in the quarter.

UP AT THE HALF

The Raptors managed to hold a two-point lead at the half, thanks to a stellar second quarter performance from Terrence Ross. Coming off the bench, Ross scored 11 points in the frame, making 4-of-6 shots.

STAGNANT THIRD

The Heat came out firing in the third, making 58 percent of their shots as they outscored Toronto 27-20 to take a five-point lead into the fourth. As Miami was heating up, Toronto’s offence went cold and the team shot just 38 percent in the quarter.

SLOW-MOVING OVERTIME

With Toronto down six, Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer and then got a steal and was fouled with 4.1 seconds remaining. Ross made the first free throw, but missed the second, leading to Hassan Whiteside shooting free throws with 3.3 seconds on the clock. Whiteside missed his first free throw, but made his second. With 3.3 seconds to go, Kyle Lowry connected on a 39-foot 3-pointer to tie the game at the buzzer.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go well for the Raptors in the extra session. Miami went on an 8-0 run to start overtime, and despite another wild finish with an opportunity to extend the game, the Raptors came up short.

SWITCH UP

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey elected to switch up his starting five against the Heat. Toronto went small to start the game with rookie Norman Powell sliding into the starting five alongside Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas.

LATE-NIGHT SHOOTING SESSION

After Kyle Lowry had a rough night shooting the ball (3-for-13 field goals), he decided to get in a late-night shooting session. Immediately after the game, Lowry got up shots on the third-floor practice court, then moved to the main court once the arena was cleared out.

RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME

Jonas Valanciunas led the team with a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double. He played 41 minutes and shot 10-for-16 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Valanciunas added three assists, two steals and three blocked shots. The Raptors were a +10 when he was on the floor, a team high.

UNDERRATED RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME

Terrence Ross scored a playoff career high 19 points off the bench, in 28 minutes of action. He shot 7-for-13 from the floor, 2-for-7 from three and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. He also added two rebounds, an assist, a steal and two blocked shots.

THAT'S A RAP…

“It’s basketball. A series is a series. We don’t look at it like – it’s difficult - we looking at it like things we could clean up to get better at. There’s a few things that we made a mistake on and still had a couple chances to win this game. We still have another opportunity to win the next game at home, and go on the road and do what we do. Now it’s just more of a challenge, that’s all.”- DeMar DeRozan on dropping Game 1

BY THE #’S

52…Rebounds for the Heat, compared to just 41 for the Raptors.

24…Percent shooting from beyond the arc for Toronto. The Raptors shot 5-for-21 from deep, while the Heat finished 8-for-11 from long-distance.

35…Combined turnovers in a game riddled with errors for both teams. The Raptors turned it over 15 times, leading to 16 Miami points, while the Heat had 20 turnovers, leading to 22 Raptors points.

26…points for Goran Dragic on 10-for-20 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three. Dwyane Wade had 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots in 37 minutes.

9…Assists for Kyle Lowry who just missed out on his own double-double, with 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds and a steal in 38 minutes.

THEY SAID IT…

“It definitely was a feel-out game. It was definitely a touchy-feely game. And just trying to figure out what we were going to do, what they were going to do. And they were definitely probably trying to figure out what we were going to do.You know, with our matchups, with Norm [Powell] starting on D-Wade and [DeMarre Carroll] with Joe [Johnson], just trying to figure out where we could take advantage or what plays we can run and the feel. And it’s a different type of offence with us playing DC at the 4 and Norm at the 3, it’s kind of a different offence for us.”- Kyle Lowry on both teams trying to figure out the other in the first game of the series

“Those plays were back-breakers. we get stops, he gets the steal, we turn it over, he’s right there at the right time. He just knows how to play the game within the game. Those are the plays and possessions we have to take care of. There’s no magic pill, it’s little plays like that.”- Dwane Casey on the veteran savviness of Dwyane Wade down the stretch

“We had a lot of moments in the game, where a couple minutes we could have pulled away with the lead. But they got going and we kinda stayed stagnant, and the game stayed close, stayed a one-point, two-point game. That’s when we gotta use those opportunities to be able to put away. Even in overtime, we didn’t get a chance to score and give ourselves a better chance to win, but we were still in the game.”- DeMar DeRozan on not being able to take advantage of opportunities early and late

“It’s definitely a feel, just trying to get the touch back. I don’t know where it’s at. It’s kind of mindboggling right now. It’s frustrating. I’m not going to shy away from the criticism or anything. I’m going to continue to be aggressive, shoot shots and take the onus. I know I’m not playing well at all. We got out of that one series with me not playing well, shooting the ball well. But we’ve got to get out of this next series. I have to play better, shoot the ball better, score the ball better.”- Kyle Lowry on trying to work through shooting woes

UP NEXT:

The Raptors look to even the series in Game 2 at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday at 8 P.M. ET.