NBA Playoffs: Toronto Raptors Defeat Miami Heat, Move On To Cleveland Cavaliers
The Toronto Raptors have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA Playoffs for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Miami Heat in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon. While LeBron James had mentioned that he’d like to play his former team in the 2016 NBA Playoffs, the Raptors have made sure that won’t happen.
The Raptors-Heat series was the only match-up from Round 2 that went to a game 7, so the OKC Thunder, Golden State Warriors, and Cleveland Cavaliers will all have had a much longer rest period when Round 3 begins than the Raptors will receive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4biSw7n2A
Toronto has one day to shift their focus from the Miami Heat as they travel to Cleveland in hopes that they can get past the Cavs and move on to the NBA Finals to face the Oklahoma City or Golden State.
Raptors-Heat Game 7 stats
Kyle Lowry took the offensive lead on Sunday night with game-highs 35 points and nine assists. He also had a game-high four steals and had seven rebounds as well. Bismack Biyombo pulled down a game-high 16 boards and had 17 points for a double-double. Patrick Patterson had a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Demar DeRozan added 28 points of his own.
In the valiant Game 7 effort, all five Miami Heat starters scored in the double-digits, with Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic leading the team with 16 each. No one from the Heat registered a double-double. Justise Winslow had a team-high eight rebounds and had 14 points. Dragic also lead the Heat in assists with seven. Luol Deng had a game-high three blocked shots to go with 12 points.
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Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Raptors played in the very first game of the 2016 NBA Playoffs and have had back-to-back seven-game series. That’s 14 games in 29 days, and they only get one day to “rest” while they travel to Cleveland to begin their series on Tuesday. The Cavs, meanwhile, have swept both of their opponents in the Playoffs this year, meaning they’ve only played eight games over those same 29 days and will have had more than a week of rest since they finished off the Atlanta Hawks in Round 2.
Toronto takes Game 7! Raptors dominate Heat to advance to 1st Conference Final in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/YgeLEyHDKi
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 15, 2016
The Raptors won their last game against the Cavs in late February 99-97 in Toronto. In early January at the Q, Cleveland dominated Toronto 122-100. Toronto did win the regular season series, however, winning the first match-up in late November. Every game was decided at home, the Raptors taking another close one at the Air Canada Center 103-99.
Cavs-Raptors: Where To Watch Game 1
Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals featuring Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors will be Tuesday, May 17, at the Quicken Loans Arena. As of Sunday evening, “a very limited amount of tickets for the first two home games of the Eastern Conference Finals” were available through Cleveland’s official website to see the Cavs vs. Raptors live in Cleveland for Game 7.
It’s official.
See you Tuesday, @Raptors.
#ALLin216 pic.twitter.com/EqafhSjwe3— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 15, 2016
The Raptors-Cavs game will air on ESPN with the game scheduled to begin at 8:30 EST. Game 2 airs at the same time on ESPN on Thursday night, May 19.
[Photo credit Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images]
