It took the Toronto Raptors 15 years to get this far again, and Kyle Lowry knows they won't go further if he doesn't play better.
The Raptors need Lowry to play the way Goran Dragic is.
"I know the pressure I put on myself. I know we won't advance if I don't play better," Lowry said Wednesday. "I have to play better for us to be a good team and win games."
With Lowry faltering and Dragic flourishing, the Miami Heat aim to win the point guard matchup in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday night in Toronto.
A day after announcing that Chris Bosh wouldn't return in the post-season, the Heat can quickly move halfway to ending Toronto's first second-round appearance since 2001.
Toronto rode its backcourt of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to a franchise-record 56 victories and the No. 2 seed in the East, but those All-Stars were outplayed by Dragic and Dwyane Wade in Miami's 102-96 overtime victory Tuesday night in the series opener.
Dragic followed his huge Game 7 that got the Heat past Charlotte in the first round by scoring 26 points, while Wade had 24 and some big defensive plays.
"Goran just wants to win," Wade said. "That's all he talked about, was getting back to the playoffs and feeling how it feels to be a part of winning. Right now he's in a good offensive groove for us, but he's always going to do what it takes to win and that's all we care about."
Lowry was limited to seven points, hitting the halfcourt heave that forced overtime but otherwise missing from everywhere else on the floor in a 3-for-13 performance. DeRozan scored 22 points and shot 9 for 22, which isn't great but was well above his 33 per cent in the post-season.
Lowry is at 30.6 per cent and his confidence looks as shaky as his shot, and he appeared to pass up some open looks in Game 1. He worked on his shot until after 1 a.m. following Game 1, first on the Raptors' practice court and then on the main court, in an effort to rediscover a shot that's missing.
"I've had a few struggles like this in my NBA career, but nothing this big," Lowry said. "What makes it worse is that it's the playoffs."
