Although the Toronto Raptors lost Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round series against the Orlando Magic, coach Nick Nurse doesn't seem to be too worried about his opponent.
Orlando stole the game from Toronto behind a game-winning 3-pointer from D.J. Augustin. One of the key factors that resulted in the Magic's 104-101 win was their defensive effort against Toronto's All-Star guard, Kyle Lowry.
Lowry was held scoreless in 34 minutes, missing all seven shots from the field in Game 1. However, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told The Athletic's Eric Koreen that it had nothing to do with the Magic's defense.
“No, I don’t think they did anything special. I think he had some really good looks … that he is normally going to knock down. We need to get him involved a little bit offensively, and we need some points from. I thought he was impacting the game.”
Lowry himself agreed with his coach's sentiments.
“I got some looks and missed them. That’s about it. It’s nothing in me. I just missed some shots. I was open. I did … well on the floor-general side, but I missed some shots.”
Although he struggled offensively, Lowry still did all the little things for the Raptors. He finished the game with eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals. He also orchestrated the Raptors' 20-2 run between the second and third quarter that erased the Magic's 16-point lead.
The Raptors will try to bounce back in Game 2 on Tuesday, and they believe Lowry will have a better game.
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