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Kyle Lowry closes down gym after poor performance

By Alex Butler

TORONTO, May 4 (UPI) -- Lights stayed lit following the fanfare of a graveyard of soda cups and popcorn and the Raptors' 102-96 loss to the Miami Heat Tuesday in Toronto.

Air Canada Centre's practice court was open until the wee hours of the night, as Raptors star Kyle Lowry was putting up jump shots following an off night in Game 1 of its Eastern Conference playoff series. Lowry kept up the practice until after 1 a.m.

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Lowry shot 3-for-13 and netted just seven points in the loss. The point guard shot 1-of-7 from 3-point range and reach the free-throw line in 43 minutes of playing time.

"I'm going to hang out here for a little bit and just be in the gym, try to get back to just enjoying it, being in the gym, and having fun," Lowry told the Sporting News after the game. "I shoot the ball well when I'm by myself, but I'm by myself. It's weird."

Several media outlets stuck around to get pictures of Lowry's impromptu practice session.

"[I'm] trying to just get the touch back," Lowry told CBS Sports. "I don't know where it's at. It's kind of mind-boggling right now. It's frustrating. But I'm not going to shy away from the criticism or anything. I'm going to continue to be aggressive, shoot shots and take the onus. Lowry averaged 21.2 points per game during the regular season, but has averaged 13 points per game this postseason.

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"I know I'm not playing well at all," Lowry told CBS Sports. "We got out of that one series with me not playing well, shooting the ball well. But we've got to get out of this next series and I have to play better and shoot the ball better, score the ball better."

The Raptors host the Heat at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Air Canada Centre.

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