On Sunday evening, by way of a dominating 116-89 Game 7 victory over the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors captured their biggest win in franchise history, and advanced to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The Raptors held a marginal lead each quarter, and then dominated on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat 30-11 in the final frame. The Raptors were led by Kyle Lowry’s 35 points, but DeMar DeRozan, Bismack Biyombo, DeMarre Carroll, and Patrick Patterson all came up big for Toronto in Game 7.
Lowry became the first Toronto Raptors player to post consecutive 35+ point games in NBA Playoff games.
Now waiting for the Raptors are the formidable Cleveland Cavaliers, who have not lost a game thus far in the 2016 NBA Playoffs; sweeping both the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors won the season series 2-1 vs. the Cavaliers, but as we all know the Playoffs are a whole new season.
Tuesday night, May 17th, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland at 8:30pm ET will mark tipoff between the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 1 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals!
Notable Raptors stat lines:
DeMarre Carroll – 14 points, five rebounds, two assists
Patrick Patterson – 11 points, 11 rebounds, one steal, two blocks
Bismack Biyombo – 17 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks
DeMar DeRozan – 28 points, eight rebounds
Kyle Lowry – 35 points (including 5 of from three-point range), seven rebounds, nine assists, four steals
Notable Heat stat lines:
Joe Johnson – 13 points, three rebounds, two assists
Luol Deng – 12 points, two rebounds
Justise Winslow – 14 points, eight rebounds, two steals, two blocks
Dwyane Wade – 16 points, four rebounds, three assists
Goran Dragic – 16 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals
Josh McRoberts – Ten points
Postgame Media Sessions:
Dwane Casey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuY-YtshuWE]DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFjbXqIY_p0]“Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade talk with the media following their Game 7 and series loss to the Raptors.”
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/eastseries6/2016/05/15/0041500217-mia-presser.nba/
Postgame Locker Room Reactions:
Terrence Ross
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy2nJ6uNK1E]Patrick Patterson
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WFD0EGWwcM]DeMarre Carroll
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2piE4OnVZTQ]Bismack Biyombo
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoDoFCYSftg]Cory Joseph
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ4HcveMJrQ]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
