Toronto Raptors: 5 Takeaways From Game 4 Loss To Heat

Following their Game 4 loss to the Miami Heat, here are the 5 main takeaways for the Toronto Raptors.

Leading two games to one in the series, the Toronto Raptors were looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead heading back to Toronto without Jonas Valanciunas in the middle. Winning both Games 3 and 4 in Miami would have been a devastating blow to the Miami Heat as they would need to win two more games on the road, either without or with a limited Hassan Whiteside. One way or the other, Game 4 was going to end up being pivotal for this series.

The game started off like all of the other games in this series, ugly. Yet this game was a special brand of ugly with both teams respectively missing their best player to this point in the series. The game was tied at 35 with less than four minutes to go in the second quarter before the Heat engineered a 9-0 run to close out the half with the lead.

That lead did not last long as the Raptors cut it down to four within the first two minutes of the third quarter. Despite foul trouble from Kyle Lowry in the third, the Raptors were able to tie the game and eventually build a seven point lead of their own.

The game also featured a surprise benching of All Star DeMar DeRozan from the three-minute mark in the third quarter until there was only 1:30 left in the fourth, shortly after Lowry fouled out of the game. The Raptors failed to get the necessary stops or scores down the stretch to put the Heat away and the game was sent to overtime, the third overtime game in this series.

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In overtime, turnovers and mental lapses were the story of the game. The Raptors scored twice on the Heat’s basket and once on their own. The Raptors turned the ball over four times in overtime, including a five-second inbound violation, and the Miami Heat came away with a 94-87 win.

Next: Lowry and DeRozan Struggle Again