As the games get bigger in this series, the lineups are getting smaller. Both teams lost their starting center to injury in Game 3, making Monday’s game a matchup of perimeter players. Toronto looks to take advantage without the league’s premier shot-blocker in the middle and go up 3-1 on the Heat.
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Toronto Raptors +6
Miami Heat -6
Over/Under 187.5
LOOK AHEAD
Through three games, this Eastern Conference semifinal series has played out the same as Toronto’s first-round series with the Indiana Pacers: Lose Game 1, win Games 2 and 3. Toronto would like to have a different result in Game 4 against the Heat than its Game 4 loss to Indiana. The Raptors weren’t prepared for the desperation the Pacers came out with to avoid going down 3-1 in that first round matchup, and they lost handily as Indiana knotted the series.
This time around, in the same situation, the Raptors hope to be able to match Miami’s energy level and use the opportunity to take a commanding series lead on the road. Toronto knows it won’t be easy against a veteran Heat team that plays well on its home floor and understands the implications of being down 3-1 in a series.
INJURIES
The Raptors will be without center Jonas Valanciunas for the remainder of the series with a sprained right ankle. He was injured in the third quarter of Toronto’s Game 3 victory. Valanciunas averaged 15 points and 12.1 rebounds in the playoffs and had a double-double in all three games against Miami.
Miami will be without its big man in Hassan Whiteside, who injured his knee during the second quarter of Saturday’s game. The Heat listed Whiteside as “day-to-day”, but these sorts of injuries can linger, putting his status in doubt for the remainder of the series. He will not play Monday night.
KEY MATCHUP
Kyle Lowry found his shooting stroke and the Raptors jumped back into the driver’s seat in this series. Lowry scored 29 of his 33 points in the second half of Game 3 and will try to put together two solid games in a row. He was shooting just 30.8 percent through the first nine postseason games and went 2 of 14 from three-point range in the first two games against the Heat before breaking out with five triples in the second half on Saturday.
Shaking off epic NBA playoff struggles, Lowry connected on 11 of 19 shots, including 5 of 8 from three-point range, as the Raptors stole homecourt advantage with a 95-91 win. He drained five straight points late in the fourth quarter to keep Toronto in the lead and he looked poised and confident doing it. “I felt like it was just a matter of time,” Lowry said about breaking out of his postseason-long shooting slump.
QUICK PICK
Both starting centers have played well in the series and their loss is big for their respective teams. Valanciunas played particularly well picking up part of the scoring slack when Lowry and DeMar DeRozan struggled to find their range. The Heat lose their rim protector and rebounder with Whiteside on the shelf, and the team that recovers the best and quickest will have an edge on Monday night.
Toronto attacked the basket when Whiteside went down and that opened up the entire floor for them offensively. It also helped that Lowry and DeRozan performed more like their regular season selves. Dwyane Wade did his best to keep the Heat in Game 3 and matched Lowry’s second half performance while dropping in 38 points, but Miami was too reliant on their veteran down the stretch and it cost them.
NBA Odds: Toronto 104, Miami 101
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