With the Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas ruled out for the rest of the series due to a severely sprained right ankle, and the Heat’s Hassan Whiteside unavailable for Game 4, and officially ‘day-to-day’ for the rest of the series due to his sprained MCL, the games in this Raptors vs. Heat series will now take on a different look and feel going forward with both of the dominant big men out of the lineup.
Bismack Biyombo started in place of the injured Valanciunas, and made his presence felt early in the game on this play against Hassan Whiteside’s starting replacement, NBA veteran Amar’e Stoudemire:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9BHfelvGsQ]Miami held the upper hand in the first half, being able to dictate the pace and style of the game early on. The Heat took 44-35 lead into halftime. The Raptors shot a poor 29% from the field in the first half, making just 12 of their 41 field goal attempts in the half. Neither team shot the ball well from three point range in the first half; Heat 0-5, Raptors 2-12.
Toronto bounced back in the third quarter, and had a marvelous showing on both ends of the court, outscoring the Heat 27-16 in the quarter; led by ten points from DeMarre Carroll on 5-5 shooting in the quarter. The Raptors turned their 9 point deficit into a two point lead heading into the fourth quarter, with Toronto leading 62-60 after three.
Kyle Lowry was called for an offensive foul with 1:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, sending the Raptors’ floor general to the bench for the rest of the game. This would prove to be a big blow to the Raptors, as they were up 81-79 at the time, trying to close out Game 4 on the road.
Miami tied the game, to make it 83-83, on a beautiful euro-step lay up by Dwyane Wade. Cory Joseph took the final shot of regulation, but his jumpshot missed the mark sending the game to overtime for the third time in the series.
The Miami Heat dominated overtime, outscoring the Raptors 11-4 in the five minutes of extra play, winning the game 94-87, tying the series 2-2, and taking away the Raptors opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead.
Miami Heat shot just 1-15 from three-point range for the game, but shot 45% overall. The Raptors made 6 of their 20 attempts from three point range, and shot just 39% overall from the field.
Notable Raptors stat lines:
DeMarre Carroll – 13 points (6-11 shooting), three rebounds, one steal
Bismack Biyombo – 13 points, 13 rebounds, one steal, two blocks
Kyle Lowry – Ten points (2-11 shooting), seven rebounds, nine assists, four steals (Lowry fouled out of the game in the 4th quarter)
Cory Joseph – 14 points
Notable Heat stat lines:
Joe Johnson – 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks
Luol Deng – Nine points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals
Dwyane Wade – 30 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals
Goran Dragic – 15 points, six rebounds, four assists
Postgame Media Sessions:
“Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade speak following a Game 4 overtime victory over Toronto.”
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/eastseries6/2016/05/09/0041500214-mia-postgame-gm4.nba/
Kyle Lowry
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3kANE2H7E]Dwane Casey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_xTlj112A]Postgame Locker Room Reactions:
Terrence Ross
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yc1NliFy4]DeMarre Carroll
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duD324zE5_4]DeMar DeRozan
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2P_QytYY0s]Bismack Biyombo
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Aupiz0ppn4]Cory Joseph
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