Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 5 series win vs. Magic

The Toronto Raptors won big in their Game 5 win against the Orlando Magic, clinching their spot in the next round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

The Toronto Raptors‘ Game 5 victory notched their most dominant back-to-back wins in the franchise’s postseason history. In the last two games of this first round series, they won by an average margin of 20.5 points per game. They also held the Orlando Magic under 100 points in all four of their victories, and allowed only 104 points in the lone loss in Game 1.

What a journey it has been since Game 1 of the series. The Raptors won by the largest point differential of any playoff series so far in the league by 66 points. Furthermore, since that opening loss, Orlando only held a lead over Toronto for combined total of five minutes and 36 seconds. It is fair to say this Raptors team has been really good, riding its first time four-game win streak in a postseason into the next round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Kyle Lowry started everything up for the Raptors on Tuesday night, scoring the team’s first nine points to spur on a 9-1 run to open the game. He was a beast on both ends of the floor, contributing 14 points, a game-high nine assists, four rebounds and one steal while shooting 6-for-10 from the floor.

Kawhi Leonard led the game in scoring for the second straight time with 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and 5-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Pascal Siakam continued his postseason dominance with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and one block while shooting 8-for-16 from the floor.

Orlando struggled to find a rhythm offensively Tuesday night. D.J. Augustin was the only starter to hit more than two 3s, contributing a team-high 15 points and four assists on the night. Aaron Gordon, who was having a solid series against Toronto, was slowed down in this one, being held to 11 points, seven rebounds and a single assist while shooting 4-for-13 from the floor.

Orlando tried to claw its way back into this game, but by the end of the first quarter, faced a 16-point deficit. The Magic were trailing by as many as 37 at one point in the third. The Raptors were completely dominant from the start with the sole intention of closing out the series in front of their home crowd. Here are the three takeaways from the blowout win.