Toronto Raptors: Led By Lowry And DeRozan, The Raptors Have Evened The ECF

By Eleazar Gonzales | May 24, 2016

May 21, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) celebrates with Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph (6) and Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo (8) during the fourth quarter in game three of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Raptors won 99-84. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

Led by DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in Game 4, the Toronto Raptors have tied the Eastern Conference Finals, at 2-2

Many had predicted that LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers would sweep the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals, Or at the very least, win it in 5 games. The Raptors have other plans.

In Game 4 at Air Canada Center, which saw the Raptors lead by as much as 18 points and the Cavaliers shoot 3 of 22 from downtown in the first half, who would have thought the Raptors actually survived the late surge by the Cavs which saw them took the lead in the fourth quarter?

Nobody. In the end, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and the rest of the Raptors were able to hang onto the lead and finish off the Cavs, 105-99, to tie the ECF at 2-2.

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Suddenly, we actually have a series in the East when most people thought that the Cavs would finish off the Raptors quickly, especially after the first two games.

During the first two games back in Cleveland, the backcourt duo of Lowry and DeRozan were miserably struggling with their shots, forcing most of them. Back in Game 3, both came out firing from all cylinders. And that was carried all the way in Game 4.

Toronto began by making the Cavs shooters shoot blanks from long distance early on. At halftime, the entire Cavs only made 3 of their 22 attempts from downtown, which included 12 straight misses from beyond the three-point line. Another thing that helped the Raptors was their scoring in the second quarter. Lowry and company outscored the Cavs 30-19 during the second quarter.

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Lowry, who scored a franchise playoff-record 35 points, scored 15 points in the second quarter alone. No wonder why the Raptors led by as much as 18 in the first half.

Whatever Coach Tyronn Lue ranted about during the break, it started to kick in with the Cavs come the third quarter. The Cavs’ offense started firing anew. But, things got really interesting in the fourth quarter.

The Cavs began by making all of their first 11 shot attempts, a combination of threes from big man Channing Frye, dunks from Richard Jefferson and jump shots from Kyrie Irving. However, Dwane Casey and his wards wouldn’t allow another late comeback by the Cavs.

They strung up their defense, forcing the Cavs to shoot from uncomfortable zones. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who finished the game with 32 points, took over the scoring chores when the Cavs threatened to take back the lead. Bismack Biyombo, who grabbed 26 rebounds in Game 3, hauled down 14 this time around which included a couple of important rebounds in the last two minutes of the game.

Lowry, then, iced up the victory with a driving layup with under a minute to play.

LeBron James led the way with 29 points on 11 of 16 shooting but only made one of his three attempts from downtown. Kyrie Irving came back from his ugly start and finished with 26 points but made 11 of 21 field goals, which included just making 3 of 8 from downtown.

Kevin Love continued his shooting slump, finishing with 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting. He also injured his knee late in the third quarter and didn’t play a minute in the fourth quarter.

This is not the performance we saw from the Cavs’ Big 3 during the regular season, during the first two rounds of the playoffs and during the first two games of the series. As a team, the Cavs shot 47 percent from the field, 31 percent from the three-point line, and 73 percent from the free throw line.

This also marked the first time that the Cavs lost two consecutive games to an Eastern Conference opponent. The last time it happened? 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

We can be assured that the Cavs will be taking out all of the weapons they have in their arsenal come Game 5 at Quicken Loans Arena but they must do two things first: play like they had been playing during the first two games to say the least and then, make Lowry and DeRozan shoot blanks, again.

Play suffocating defense again. Otherwise, their second-straight trip to the NBA Finals would be put in jeopardy. King James may have dominated the first two games but for the first time in a long period of time, the Cavaliers are threatened by a team who is in the conference finals for the first time in its history.

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Suddenly, the Toronto Raptors just might have a shot at making it to the Finals for the first time in franchise history, too. All of a sudden, the Cavs are challenged.

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