Like Dorothy said, "there's no place like home." For Kyle Lowry home is not only where the heart is, but where his shots are.
The Toronto Raptors point guard scored 35 points, played tenacious defense and helped Canada's team even the series at two with the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night with a 105-99 victory. Lowry got help from his fellow all-star comrade DeMar DeRozan who chipped in with 32 points on 14-23 shooting from the field. Playoff sensation Bismack Biyombo continued his dominance on the boards with 14 after an impressive 26 rebound performance in game three.
In the end, the Raptors displayed the fight that nobody, with the exception of the Toronto faithful, thought they had. Lowry's play the last two games demonstrated a complete change from the Cleveland experience in games one and two. The image of Lowry leaving the bench early in game one to "collect himself" brought about much criticism. Then there was the story of him asking Lue to help him look at game film. A strange request since Lue is the head coach of the opposing team. Imagine Kobe Bryant asking Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich for help during a playoff series. Not gonna happen.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey deserves much credit for rallying his troops and coming up with defensive strategies that limited Cavalier players Love and J.R. Smith who combined for just 19 points on 7-26 shooting. LeBron James, who led his team in scoring with 29, was held scoreless the last 5:30 of the game.
The saying goes that it's not a series until the home team loses a game. Game five will be Wednesday night at Cleveland where the Cavs have not lost a game in the playoffs.
photos courtesy thestar.com. wkyc.com and isportsweb.com