In the playoffs, you do not want to be down three games to none. It is very well documented that a team that is on the bottom end of that has never come back to win the series. It has been foolproof since a seven game series has become the norm, that it gets brought up as early as the end of Game 2, as a warning that the third game is essentially a must-win.

At best, the other team manages to claw back and steal a couple of wins or at times (albeit rarely) even tie it – but that is as close at it gets. That said, a three-zero hole does not mean that teams should throw the towel outright.

Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors certainly have that mindset heading into Game 4.

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The Toronto Raptors have been a bit of a disappointment during the Eastern Conference semifinals. The lone Canadian team who takes pride on their Air Canada Centre excellence (evident in their Game of Thrones-inspired “We The North” battlecry), wasted their home court advantage and found themselves in a must-win situation as the series shifted to Cleveland where the Cleveland Cavaliers are just as dominant.

Not surprisingly, the Cavaliers pulled out to an early lead and maintained their hold the first three quarters before the Raptors staged a rally – minus their star player DeMar Derozan and mostly using their backups Fred VanVleet and swiss army knife forward OG Anunoby. They were able to tie it in the closing seconds via an Anunoby three before succumbing to a familiar LeBron James game-winner.