TORONTO -- With All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan continuing to struggle, the Toronto Raptors are forced to find other ways to win.
On Thursday night, it was forward DeMarre Carroll stepping up with a game-high 21 points as the Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 96-92 in overtime.
The Raptors evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. The series moves to Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena for Game 3 on Saturday.
"I'm encouraged; we've got to take it," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "We're finding other ways to win, that's very encouraging. We've got to continue to grow with them, find ways to help them and hopefully get their rhythm."
Related
DeRozan and Lowry combined to go 16-for-46 from the field. DeRozan, who had his right thumb taped up after jamming it in Game 1, shot an uncharacteristically low 2-for-8 from the foul line. He finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.
"It's been ugly," DeRozan said with a laugh. "But when we do (play our game), I'm pretty sure you're going to know. It's a grind, honestly. We knew none of this was going to be pretty. None of this was going to come out pretty.
"As long as we can come out with a 'W,' it really doesn't matter how we play, but it's going to come."
Lowry chipped in 18 points and six assists. He shot 7-for-22 from the floor, 1-for-7 from 3-point range and 3-for-6 on free throws.
Goran Dragic topped Miami with 20 points, while Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson had 17 points each in the loss. Hassan Whiteside contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds.
"The second half, I thought we were aggressive, I thought we were making some good defensive plays," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Then the last four or five minutes, they made (big) plays."
Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas had nine fourth-quarter points to help erase what was once a seven-point Heat lead. Lowry then scored back-to-back Raptors baskets, sandwiching a Wade 3-pointer, to give Toronto an 86-83 lead, but Dragic hit a 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Lowry fired an airball on a long 3-point attempt at the regulation buzzer.
Miami outscored Toronto 24-15 in the third quarter, closing on a 13-2 run to take a 65-63 lead into the fourth. The Heat shot 11-for-16 from the field in the third, while the Raptors hit just six of 20.
With Dragic in foul trouble, Johnson led the way with nine points while Wade added eight in the period.
Carroll scored 12 first-half points, including a nice give-and-go with Valanciunas to round out the half, giving the Raptors a 48-41 lead at the break.
"(Carroll) was the savoir tonight offensively," Casey said of the forward who missed 41 regular-season games due to a knee injury and played just three of the final five regular-season games after returning.
"He's just now getting his game conditioning back, getting in the rhythm, he's still feeling his way in certain situations as far as getting grooving with the offense," Casey added. "He's just now coming around."
Whiteside helped cut what was once a 14-point Raptors lead down to seven with 10 first-half points. Johnson scored seven of the final nine Heat points in the second quarter, and he had eight at halftime.
Dragic, who had a team-high 11 points through two quarters, left the game with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter with a lower lip laceration after taking a DeRozan elbow to the chin.
According to the team, Dragic received three stitches on the inside of his lip and five on the outside. A bottom teeth went through his lip during contact.
The Heat matched a franchise worst by committing 11 first-quarter turnovers, helping the Raptors to a 29-19 lead after one period. Toronto scored 14 points off Miami's first-quarter giveaways.
"I feel like if we don't turn the ball over 20-something times, we're going to be fine," Wade said. "The offense was fine. We can't keep giving up 20 turnovers a game. That limits us a lot."
NOTES: F Chris Bosh, who spent his first seven seasons in Toronto, will not play again this season, the Heat announced. The 32-year-old veteran has not played since the All-Star break after a blood clot was discovered in his left leg. ... Raptors G DeMar DeRozan wore a wrap on his right thumb, which he sprained late in Game 1, but he remained in the starting lineup. ... Toronto's offense during the playoffs ranked among the worst in points per game (92.8), field goal percentage (.401), 3-point percentage (.278) and turnovers (14) entering Game 2.
