Lowry’s half-court buzzer beater wasted as Raptors lose to Heat in overtime

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Less than 48 hours after surviving a wild late-game surge from the Indiana Pacers and delivering Toronto its first NBA playoff series in 15 years, the Raptors staged a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback of their own on Tuesday. But this night didn't end in Toronto bliss.

As the dying seconds of regulation ticked by, Kyle Lowry was 2-for-11 for a paltry four points, and was being badly outplayed by Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic. That's when Toronto's struggling All-Star punctuated Toronto's double-digit comeback with one of the biggest shots of his career – a buzzer-beating, game-tying half-court three-pointer to force overtime.

But that monster moment soon evaporated, as Miami proceeded to a 102-96 overtime win and a 1-0 series lead behind a 26-point night from Dragic and 24 from Dwyane Wade.

The Raptors started a small lineup on Tuesday to match Miami's. While Patrick Patterson had started the final three games of the Indiana series, the team opted to bring him off the bench this time. They started rookie Norman Powell at small forward and swung DeMarre Carroll over to power forward.

Carroll started out guarding Joe Johnson – the guy who led the Brooklyn Nets in scoring when they eliminated the Raptors from the 2014 playoffs. Powell, who had played less than six minutes combined in the four games versus Miami in the regular season, was put on Wade after guarding Paul George for spurts of the Indiana series.

Powell had studied Wade meticulously, and not just in the 48 hours he prepped for this game. Wade was a player he watched growing up and tried to emulate – especially the way Wade could make defenders bite on his pump-fake.

Raptors Coach Dwane Casey, too, has become very familiar with Wade, starting when he was an assistant coach with the Seattle Supersonics. Before the Heat picked Wade out of Marquette in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Sonics worked him out, and it was Casey quizzing Wade on his basketball I.Q. Later, as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, Casey devised the defensive schemes that helped beat Wade, LeBron James and the rest of the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Wade – veteran of 13 NBA seasons –was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting in the first half.

Valanciunas was huge in the first half. The Raptors big man scored on a combination of dunks and short jumpers over physical Miami seven-footer Hassan Whiteside. The game was tied 18-18 after the first.

Kyle Lowry went scoreless in the half while Dragic – Lowry's former backup in Houston – turned up the speed in transition and found eight quick points. Terrence Ross was enlisted on Wade for a spurt, while at the same time going on an 11-point scoring blitz for Toronto.

"We need [Ross's] scoring, and his shooting until Kyle gets his jump shot going again," said Casey. "T Ross came in tonight, Jonas had one of his best games tonight. There's other ways to get it, and he's giving us that in the low-post."

Toronto took a 43-41 lead into the locker room.

Inside the second half, Wade hit an early three-point jumper to kick off a nine-point scoring burst. Dragic stayed hot too. Miami outscored Toronto 27-20 in the quarter and took a 68-63 lead into the final quarter.

The Heat went on a 7-2 run to open the third, and soon the Raptors were down by then. Ross and Cory Joseph were carrying the scoring load for Toronto, and the Raps edged to within three in the final six seconds. Melee ensued and bodies dove for the ball, and Ross earned some free throws. Then Lowry launched the shot of the night to extend into five minutes of overtime.

Wade led Miami's overtime scorers, masterful with seven points and two steals, as the Heat commanded the extra frame.

Valanciunas ended the night with 24, while DeMar DeRozan had 22. Ross had 19; Joseph had ten. Lowry had seven on 3-of-13 shooting. Whiteside had nine points and a huge 15 boards; Joe Johnson delivered 16 and even boards.

Lowry was 3-of-13 and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. He added six assists.

"It's kind of mind boggling right now, it's frustrating," said Lowry, who has been spending many hours in the gym trying to overcome his shooting slump. "I'm not going to shy away from the criticism or anything I want to continue to be aggressive, shoot shots and take the onus. I know I'm not playing well at all. We got out of one series with me not playing well, not shooting the ball well – but we have to get out of this next series, and I have to play better and shoot the ball better."

"Kyle Lowry can get it going, so we have to be always aware of him," said Wade. "It's a make or miss league, and the same shots he missed today, he could make next game."

The Raptors as a franchise now have a 1-9 record in post-season Game 1's.

The second game will take place Thursday night in Toronto, before the series shifts to Miami for the next two, Saturday and Monday.