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Who said the Toronto Raptors were afraid of a Game 7?
The team's two stars, DeMar Derozan and Kyle Lowry, made it clear after Friday's loss to the Miami Heat that they look forward to the final game in the series. Lowry had a loose demeanor as he looked toward Game 7's tilt versus the Heat on Sunday afternoon:
“We played all year to get 56 wins, to become the two-seed in the East, and to get home-court in this type of situation,” Lowry said after Friday's loss. “This is gonna be fun. It's Game 7, two versus three, get an opportunity to play on one of the biggest stages there is. It's gonna be fun. Game 7 in the first round was a little bit more tight, but this one Sunday will be just, go out there and hoop.”
On the other hand, Derozan stressed that it doesn't matter how well both him and Lowry play—the entire team has to be aggressive in order for the Raptors to win:
“It means nothing (when) we lose We all gotta be one on (the) court. Whether we score 10 points each and everybody else does something collectively, that's all that matters. As a whole, we all gotta be aggressive, and that's gonna be the turning point for us.”
The swingman also stated that the team needs to play better 1-on-1 defense instead of relying on help so much. The lack of quality man-to-man defense led to Goran Dragic torching Toronto for 30 points:
“It was just 1-on-1 defense. We just gotta buckle down, not try to rely on help so much. Every individual on our side's just gotta man up and play 1-on-1 defense, so we don't have to get into rotations, worrying about guys getting to the basket getting easy shots.”
While Lowry and Derozan are saying the right things entering the do-or-die Game 7, what will matter is their actual play on the court. Although Toronto was able to advance past the first round for the first time with this group, it will be a huge disappointment if they drop this series to the Heat while holding home-court advantage.
Game 7 is set for 3:30 PM EST and will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
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