What they’re saying about the Raptors’ Game 2 loss to Warriors

Eric Smith spoke with Mike Wilbon about Game 2 of the NBA Finals and what the Raptors and Warriors approach will be to Game 3.

Following a fairly convincing win to open the NBA Finals against Golden State, the Toronto Raptors picked up from where they left off in Game 2 and were in the driver’s seat through two quarters on Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena.

But despite getting out to a double-digit lead in the first half, you knew a Warriors run was inevitable. And when it came immediately at the start of the third quarter, like so many contenders before them, the Raptors looked powerless to stop it.

A late surge lifted the hopes of the Raptors and their fans but it wasn’t enough to defeat the two-time defending champs. An Andre Iguodala dagger followed by a failed steal attempt in the dying seconds putting the Raps to bed, 109-104.

As we do following each Toronto playoff game, let’s take a look at what the out-of-market media are saying about the Raptors’ missed opportunity following Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

First Take

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith doesn’t hold back when addressing the Raptors home crowd at Scotiabank Arena. “When half the damn fans in the arena were at the concession stands, that’s inexcusable.”

ESPN — With Dubs reeling, Raptors let Game 2 slip away

[blockquote]And yet, despite the Warriors losing three of their six best players to injury, despite the Raptors leading by 12 midway through the second quarter at home, and despite Kawhi Leonard going for 34 points and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes, Golden State managed to emerge with a 109-104 victory Sunday night, evening this best-of-seven series at a game apiece.

“We’re in the same boat they kind of were in coming here,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “We got to go out there and get one.

“That’s all we got to do is get one. And we can do that.”

Nurse is right, of course. And the Raptors already found themselves down 2-1 in the second round to the Philadelphia 76ers and 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks before rebounding to win both of those series to make it this far.

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“We made a ton of mistakes,” Kyle Lowry told ESPN. “That’s one thing. We made a lot of mistakes we can fix, and I think that’s the one thing we’ll take from this.

“We will watch the film and get better, and that’s all we can do right now.”

That introspection will have to start with Lowry himself. Toronto’s star point guard had a second straight bad game, scoring 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting and fouling out with 3:52 remaining on a bad reach-in on DeMarcus Cousins 92 feet from Golden State’s basket.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Raptors other than Leonard didn’t fare much better. Toronto shot 37.2 percent overall and 11-for-38 (28.9 percent) from 3-point range. Early foul trouble appeared to leave Toronto much more hesitant to play the kind of aggressive defense that has swarmed over each of the Raptors’ opponents in the playoffs — including Golden State in Game 1.

And the two players who were instrumental in Toronto’s victory in the series opener, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, were missing in action Sunday. Siakam shot 5-for-18 and scored 12 points after going 14-for-17 and scoring 32 in Game 1, while Gasol followed up a 20-point, seven-rebound showing by scoring six points and shooting 2-for-7 in 31 minutes.[/blockquote]

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The New York Times — N.B.A. Finals: Warriors tie series with Raptors

Marc Stein looks at the many things Golden State did right in the second half, while bringing attention to the lacklustre energy in Scotiabank Arena at the outset of the Warriors’ third quarter run (he’s not the only prominent NBA scribe who made that observation), and shares Steph Curry’s quote to ABC’s Doris Burke calling out the Raptors’ “janky defence” and “disrespectful” call to leave Andre Iguodala open to seal the win.

[blockquote]Flummoxed for a game and a half by the Toronto Raptors’ physical defense, Golden State swung back in a big way by smothering the Raptors to score the first 18 points of the second half and seize the momentum in a 109-104 victory that evened these finals at one game apiece.

The Warriors held the Raptors scoreless for nearly six minutes to start the third quarter, briefly silencing Toronto’s rabid following at Scotiabank Arena. The series resumes Wednesday night at Golden State’s Oracle Arena, where the superstar forward Kevin Durant is expected to return in Wednesday’s Game 3 or Friday night’s Game 4.

After watching the veteran Andre Iguodala seal the victory with a crucial 3-pointer from the left wing with 1.8 seconds remaining, Golden State’s Stephen Curry told ABC’s Doris Burke: “The whole fourth quarter they were playing some janky defense just trying to send bodies to me everywhere. Our whole roster just took advantage of it. Over the course of the game, that’s kind of disrespectful to leave Andre Iguodala open like that with the game on the line.”

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Siakam finished with just 12 points in Game 2, shooting 5 for 18 after scoring a decisive 32 points while going 14 for 17 from the field in the series opener. Kyle Lowry fouled out with 3 minutes 52 seconds to go in the fourth quarter after another subpar shooting performance (4 for 11 from the field).

Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 34 points and 14 rebounds, but Golden State’s dogged second-half response ultimately limited Toronto to 37.2 percent shooting.[/blockquote]

First Take — DeMarcus Cousins outplayed Marc Gasol

Stephen A. Smith offers his immediate opinion (a first take, if you will) on Game 2, and says that a key difference was that DeMarcus Cousins outplayed Marc Gasol and that the Raps were simply outperformed by their opponents.

NBATV — Charles Barkley reacts to Game 2, Raptors missed opportunities

Barkley is joined by Steve Smith and Grant Hill from Toronto to break down what happened in Game 2. They analyze the Raptors’ decision on the final play to leave Andre Igoudala open to ice the game, and Barkley laments the Raptors’ missed chance in a “make or miss” league.

CBS Sports — What a missed opportunity for the Raptors

CBS’ Brad Botkin explains.

[blockquote]Toronto had complete control of this game. In the first half, the Raptors looked like a better team by miles. They had a chance to step on the Warriors’ throat and take total control of this series, and they let the Warriors hang around. Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 14 boards and was the best player on the floor. Golden State had no business being within five points at halftime. Some of that is the Warriors just being made of championship iron, but the Raptors will regret a lot of sloppy plays and missed shots, particularly in the second half.

Overall, Toronto got a lot of really good looks. Especially late. Golden State was doubling Kawhi and scrambling like crazy to cover the back side, but the Raptors still wound up with a ton of good looks and ultimately shot 37 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range. That’s good enough when your opponent is on the ropes gasping for air. Gotta deliver the knockout. Toronto didn’t do it, and now it’s a fight again.[/blockquote]

Washington Post — Warriors even up NBA Finals, beating Raptors in Game 2, 109-104

[blockquote]While the Raptors have endured scoring droughts in the playoffs, their second-half lull stunned a Scotiabank Arena crowd that smelled blood in the early going. Toronto was outscored 34-21 in the third quarter, shooting shot just 7 for 22 from the field and 2 for 9 from three-point range. Three of the team’s Game 1 heroes regressed significantly: Pascal Siakam finished with 12 points on 18 shots, and Marc Gasol and Danny Green combined for only 14 points.

“Taking care of the ball and scoring it [is really important] because if you don’t, they’re coming at you really fast the other way,” Raptors Coach Nick Nurse said. “I’m going to have to re-watch that [third-quarter run]. I’m probably not going to enjoy that very much.”

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Although they generated numerous open looks, the Raptors hit just 6 of 22 three-point attempts in the second half and couldn’t find alternate sources of offense.[/blockquote]

ESPN — Doris Burke, Michael Wilbon, Brian Windhorst break down Raptors’ loss

The ESPN analysts share their thoughts immediately following Game 2, with Windhorst calling out the “complete lack of energy” to start the second half by both the Raptors and their home crowd, describing the atmosphere at Scotiabank Arena at the start of the third quarter — where several empty seats could be seen in the lower bowl — as flat.

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Besides the game on the court, there was also some buzz over a certain fan in the crowd — and it wasn’t Drake.

USA Today — Raptors fans gave Barack Obama a standing ovation and ‘MVP’ chant at Game 2

[blockquote]Former President Barack Obama was in attendance for Sunday’s NBA Finals Game 2 in Toronto between the Raptors and the Golden State Warriors. He rolled up to Scotiabank Arena in a snazzy leather jacket and eventually took his seat alongside NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wasn’t in attendance, the Toronto fans were more than ecstatic to see the 44th U.S. president.

Late in the second quarter, the in-arena presentation welcomed Obama and featured him on the videoboard. The fans responded with a raucous standing ovation and added an “MVP” chant.[/blockquote]

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