This is the Hangover. We get basketball-wasted all the time. Yes, we recap the NBA every night in our own way.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nathan Dennette/The Canadian Press.)
#3 MIAMI HEAT 89 @ #2 TORONTO RAPTORS 116
EAST Semifinals – Game 7 – RAPTORS WIN series, 4-3
Last one of the series.
The Raptors finally noticed that the Heat’s line-up is full of munchkins. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan LIVED inside as they got in with lay-ups and floaters and got to the line tons of times. The Heat tried to counter with balanced scoring as well as excellent contributions from their young guys Justise Winslow (who started at CENTER), Josh Richardson, and Tyler Johnson. Joe Johnson also made a few shots, which was a welcome sight for Miami.
Team Canada made a run in the third quarter. Lowry and DeRozan stayed aggressive while Bismack Biyombo came to life. A 13-2 run by Toronto separated them from Miami for a bit. Still, Dwyane Wade and Johnson made back-to-back threes to get them within eight by the end of the third.
But the fourth quarter started disastrous for the Heat. Biyombo made a huge slam to start the run and DeMarre Carroll and Terrence Ross converted consecutive three-pointers of their own. Miami never recovered; they even tried to employ a Hack-A strategy on Biyombo but everything was too late. The lead grew to 28 and Canada is in the Final Four of the NBA.
It was really bad for both teams to lose both of their starting centers but the difference was that Toronto still had Biyombo ready to play while the Heat had to play small the entire time. The Raptors killed the Heat on the glass (50-30 advantage by Canada) and they got inside with little problems. Toronto also got to the line a lot more because of their paint adventures.
In the end, the Heat fell short (GET IT?!) and the Raptors took a huge step in their franchise by making the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in team history.
The Cavs are waiting. Raptors fans are all about to watch that ESPN 30 for 30 Believeland documentary which shows the failures of Cleveland sports teams.
BEHIND THE LINES
Kyle Lowry (TOR): 35 pts, 7 rebs, 9 assts, 4 stls.
DeMar DeRozan (TOR): 28 pts, 8 rebs.
Bismack Biyombo (TOR): 17 pts, 16 rebs.
Patrick Patterson (TOR): 11 pts, 11 rebs.
Goran Dragic (MIA): 16 pts, 6 rebs, 7 assts.
Dwyane Wade (MIA): 16 pts.
WATCH THIS PLAY
BISMACKIE. YOU. YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEEED.
BIZ activates #BeastMode for the SLAM! #GAMESEVENhttps://t.co/VjKRFUN295
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2016
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA and terrible pop music. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
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