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NBA PLAYOFFS -- Heat steal Game 1 with OT thriller
By Mark Josef
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 04 May 2016
TORONTO - For the first time in 15 years, the Toronto Raptors finally made it to the second round of the NBA playoffs. But their party was crashed by the Miami Heat, who stole Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a suspenseful 102-96 victory on Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre..
With swift ball movement and DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas leading the charge, the Raptors roared to a quick start and built an early 6-point first quarter lead. DeRozan and Valanciunas combined for 18 points during the spurt.
But despite shooting only 38% from the field the veteran Heat team kept the game close, 43-41, while out-rebounding Toronto 25-16 after two quarters of play.
Goran Dragic topped the Heat with 26 points and 6 assists while Dwyane Wade had 24. Joe Johnson and Luol Deng finished with 16 and 10 points respectively while Hassan Whiteside pulled down 17 rebounds to go along with his 9 points.
Kyle Lowry's playoffs struggles continued with a 3-for-13 fare from the field. The Raptors All-Star logged just seven points, but he sent the game into overtime with a miracle 3 from half court. But there was no Cinderella finish as Miami went on a 12-6 run in the extra session. Valanciunas and DeRozan were the top performers for Toronto and combined for 46 points.
Game 2 of this best-of-7 showdown returns to the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night.
Photo: D-Wade challenges three Raptors on the way to the hoop. The perennial All-Star scored 26 points to lead Miami past Toronto.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Mark Josef.
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