Raptors edge Miami in overtime, even series 1-1

Four takeaways from a pretty entertaining, if terribly played Game 2 between the Raptors and Heat as the Raptors even the series 1-1 with a 96-92 victory…

1. Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas stepped up big time. After the Raptors fell down by seven in the fourth quarter as their season hung by a thread, Valanciunas scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting with two steals to pull Toronto back into position, and Lowry hit two huge shots late despite shooting 7-of-22 from the field in another atrocious performance. But Lowry hitting those two shots were big for his confidence, and they helped get Toronto to overtime where Miami ran out of gas and the Raptors managed to hold on to keep their season alive.

The unsung hero of the game was DeMarre Carroll, who scored 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with four steals, but Valanciunas’ ability to convert inside made the real difference. The Raptors really need to reconfigure their offense around Valanciunas until DeRozan and Lowry rediscover their jumpers.

2. Miami was a pretty big disaster and still could have won. Twenty-one …

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