In nine games out of ten, the team that commits excessive turnovers will lose, despite being better in every other category. This was one of those times. After allowing Toronto to come back and force overtime in Game 1, Miami, somehow, climbed back into the game and forced overtime themselves, despite losing 96-92. The Heat did everything that would constitute a victory: they outshot Toronto from everywhere, hauled in more rebounds than them (45-39), and had just as many assists as them (14), however, their 21 turnovers shot them in the foot.
It started in the first quarter when Miami was able to shoot 61.5% from the field for 19 points, but committed an astounding 11 turnovers — that was more than their rebounds (10), their field goals made (8), and almost as many as their field goals attempted (13). Toronto took advantage and scored 14 of their 29 points off the Heat’s turnovers. Kyle Lowry started off shockingly hot and finished with seven points on 3/5 shooting. DeMar DeRozan had six points on 3/9 shooting, but poor passing allowed him to pick off three steals; DeMarre Carroll led the team with eight points.
Miami wiped their hands off in the second quarter and cut down the turnovers, finishing with just one. They shot worse than the opening quarter, 9/20 (45%), but pulled ahead of the Raptors and finished with 22 points to Toronto’s 19. Joe Johnson had six points to lead, Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic each had four, and Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside had three each to account for 20 of the 22. After looking like he was back on track, Lowry went right back to his extreme struggles and shot just 1/5 for the quarter with four points. Terrence Ross was the leading scorer with six as Toronto barely cleared 38% shooting. Entering halftime, the Raptors held a 48-41 lead.
The game flipped at this point, and both teams looked radically different from the first half. Iso Joe came out scorching and tallied nine points on 4/5 shooting in just over seven minutes of play in the quarter. Wade had eight himself as Miami dropped 24 in the quarter on a remarkable 69% from the field. Toronto, however, wasn’t as lucky. Their offense fell off significantly and mustered just 15 points on 30% shooting; DeRozan and Lowry combined to shoot 4/13 as Toronto entered the fourth quarter down 65-63. Through the first three quarters, the Raptors shot just under 40%, but Miami’s 16 turnovers kept them from pulling away.
Without Jonas Valanciunas‘ play in the fourth, Toronto would’ve gone down 0-2 for sure. After having just four points on 2/3 shooting entering the fourth, he exploded for nine points and five rebounds that allowed the Raptors to take a 23-21 edge in the quarter, and force overtime — even though Dragic technically forced OT. After Lowry had hit a pullup two to extend the lead to 86-83, Dragic came downcourt and launched a 25-foot three that tied the game with 10.5 seconds left.
The overtime offense for both teams was virtually non-existent. Toronto outscored Miami 10-6 in the frame because they basically willed themselves to the foul line, and got eight attempts — which they hit six of — to Miami’s zero.
DeMarre Carroll was the game’s leading scorer with 21, and he added four steals to it. DeRozan and Lowry had 20 and 18, respectively, but combined to shoot 16/46 (34.7%); Valanciunas had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Dragic was the Heat’s leading scorer with 20, and Johnson and Wade had 17 each. Whiteside had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and also added three steals and three blocks.
Game 3 is Saturday, May 7, at 5:00 PM EST in Miami.
