Unable to out-finesse the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors decided instead to beat them up.
It wasn't a pretty strategy. And for long stretches, it didn't seem like it was going to be an effective one. The Heat had the upper hand with a few minutes to go and lost it.
This time, Miami had the last-second three that sent it to an extra period. This time, it was Toronto's turn to dominate overtime.
Riding their largest horse, centre Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors outlasted the Miami, 96-92.
Though it was nervy, it can't really be said that Toronto's first-round series with Indiana was eventful. The Pacers won one night. The Raptors won the next. Paul George was predictably great. Everyone else was not.
"I think we just like drama for some reason," DeMar DeRozan said Thursday.
For most of his time here, he'd have meant Hamlet. On Thursday, it turned into Henry V – a heavy emphasis on war.
The languid DeRozan was the unlikely main protagonist. At one point, he yanked hard on the arm of a leaping Hassan Whiteside, driving the Miami centre awkwardly to the ground.
In the game's replay moment, he drove a hard elbow into the chin of Goran Dragic as he powered to the net. The blow was so violent it drove the Slovenian's teeth through his lower lip, causing a jagged wound and necessitating eight stitches. As an added bonus, Dragic took the foul.
While he stalked off the court, raging, DeRozan looked disinterestedly the other way.
This was shortly after the period of Miami's great early unwinding. The Heat had 11 turnovers in the first quarter alone – a franchise record. The Raptors built up an early 10-point advantage.
As with any Toronto playoff game, the question at that point was 'Whither Kyle Lowry?'
He got off a few early, sinking three shots in the first eight minutes. That matched his Game 1 total.
But Lowry was once again ineffective in the aggregate. Another poor night percentage-wise (7-for-22) will not help him in his ongoing quest to surrender the mantle of Worst Post-Season Shooter Ever. DeRozan wasn't much better, shooting 9-for-24.
Both were also atrocious from the free throw line, going a combined 5-for-14.
"I'm encouraged," coach Dwane Casey said afterward. "We can harp on the negatives, beat that drum. Beat it to death … Those guys, they're not going anywhere."
Indeed. When it comes to Lowry in particular, Toronto can't seem to quit him. With a chance to win it in the final seconds of regulation, it was all Lowry, all the way. He heaved up another hopeful three. It didn't even hit the rim.
That left Toronto looking for another sort of hero.
A year ago, Casey would not trust Valanciunas to close out a game in September, much less May.
Now he's become the port of last hope. There is no good reason to believe that Lowry and/or DeRozan are going to be the players Toronto had hoped at any point in the near future. They've had nearly three weeks to figure it out.
They also haven't found a way to move the ball around to teammates. After the half, Toronto made only three assists.
There are other options – DeMarre Carroll scored an unlikely team high 21 points; Cory Joseph was productive again, but in limited minutes; Terrence Ross enjoyed one of his make-as-many-as-you-miss nights.
But none of those players is going to lead an offence. Valanciunas might.
The Raptors ignored him for most of Thursday night. After three quarters, he'd taken only three shots.
Valanciunas is playing against an elite defender in Whiteside, but that tactic seemed so conservative that it might eventually threaten to close the border.
Having lost faith (again) with their stars, Toronto went back to Valanciunas well into the fourth quarter. He was 5-for-7 from that point, with 7 rebounds. Miami missed shots it should have made. But Valanciunas was the difference.
Afterward, DeRozan singled him out for praise.
When Valanciunas was told about it, he shrugged.
"You know my answer," he said. "It's a team game."
Sure. But you're beginning to think the problem isn't Toronto's overreliance on Lowry. It's an under-reliance on the only guy who has yet won them a game in this series.
Cathal Kelly