Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Magic

The Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic capped off a tight Game 1 of their first-round series in the 2019 NBA Playoffs Saturday.

Tell me if you heard this story before: The Toronto Raptors follow up a fantastic regular NBA season to lose against a lower seed on their home court in the playoffs.

This isn’t to take anything away from the Orlando Magic. They played with heart, determination, and willed their way to a win. A large thanks goes to D.J. Augustin’s heroic dagger three to end the game.

Augustin’s effort was one of his best ever for the former Raptor, with 25 points, six assists, two rebounds and four 3-pointers on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting from the floor. He was the best player for the Magic in this game, along with the other lengthy guards who all helped in shutting down Toronto’s All-Star Kyle Lowry.

Lowry’s abysmal shooting night — 0-for-7 — didn’t stagnate the offense, but it definitely didn’t help either. He was still his tenacious self on the defensive end picking up seven boards while facilitating at a high level with eight helpers.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1117208728980340737

It was Pascal Siakam, not Kawhi Leonard who was the best Raptor on the floor tonight, despite struggling with his outside shot throughout the game. Siakam ended the night with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 50.0 percent shooting in a game-high 42 minutes.

Leonard did his best to provide hope and single handily will the Raptors to a lead in the last two minutes of play, with five straight points and a pivotal pass to a wide-open Marc Gasol in the corner, which unfortunately, did not fall, allowing the opportunity of Augustin’s heroics to occur on a tied game with 25 seconds left. Kawhi was his super-efficient self posting a stat line of 25, six rebounds and three assists on 55.6% shooting.

Now that we are caught up on the counting statistics, here are the three takeaways from Game 1.