Kyle Lowry’s reaction to Game 5’s stat sheet contains multitudes
There were some things worth discussing after the Cleveland Cavaliers decimated the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday — Kevin Love’s resurgence, the return of Cleveland’s shot-making, the way the Cavaliers’ blitzing of pick-and-rolls featuring Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan totally short-circuited the Raptors’ offense, etc. I know; I wrote about those things.
Sometimes, though, that old saw about a picture being worth 1,000 words really holds true … and seeing Lowry’s reaction to the Game 5 stat sheet as he sat down for his post-game press conference with DeRozan just about said it all:
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I’m not sure which line item resulted in the eye-bulging disbelief — Cleveland’s 57.1 percent shooting from the floor, Toronto’s 3-for-17 mark from 3-point range, the Cavs scoring 30 points off of 19 Raptors turnovers, DeRozan’s unsightly minus-32 in 21 minutes of floor time, the fact that Cleveland led by as many as 43 points, or something else entirely. There were many, many crooked numbers to choose from; perhaps it was the sum total of them that overloaded Lowry’s receptors.
Whatever it was that stunned the All-Star point guard into disbelief, it was very clear very early Wednesday night that Toronto’s got plenty to clean up before Friday’s Game 6 if the Raptors hope to extend the conference finals to a winner-take-all seventh game for the chance to compete in the NBA finals. If they can turn the tables on the Cavaliers, as they did in Games 3 and 4 north of the border, and find a way to get their first win of the season at Quicken Loans Arena in the deciding Game 7 … well, that would be truly eye-opening.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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