For the culture he instilled, Lowry earned every bit of love received in his return

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ Those were the words Kyle Lowry was mouthing over and over again as he walked slowly to the center-court logo he defended with a singular pride in his nine years wearing it.

No one could hear him, of course. The wall of sound had been building since the Raptors legend and current Miami Heat star took the floor for his own warm-ups well before the Heat took the floor as a group roughly twenty minutes before game time.

By the time long-time Scotiabank in-arena announcer Herbie Kuhn began his trademark Lowry wind-up — ‘from North Philly, to your city’ — not heard in Toronto since February of 2020, the crowd was on its feet, in full roar and stayed that way for more than 90 seconds until Lowry himself made his way back to Heat bench with his arms raised, acknowledging all sides of the building he helped put on the NBA map.

“It meant the world to me for the fans to show their appreciation, to give me an ovation like that, to be out on the floor with some of my former teammates, my brothers,” said Lowry, the most beloved and decorated Raptors in franchise history but who — due the pandemic and his leaving in free agency last summer — hadn’t been back in Toronto so long he got nostalgic about driving into downtown on the Gardiner Expressway.

“It’s one of those things where the first time is always special. You don’t forget that. I think the organization showed how classy they are and they showed me that everything I did here meant the world to them, just like vice-versa.”

He achieved one goal: he was able to keep the waterworks at bay even as he stood under the spotlight with his growing boys, Karter and Kameron.

“I ain’t gonna let you all see me cry, just because y’all here and I'm like, nah. I know if I cry, DeMar [DeRozan] will make fun of me and it's gonna go viral,” said Lowry, who arrived at his pre-game press conference with his championship ring, a diamond-encrusted watch on his left wrist, a heavily jewelled band on his right wrist and a new suit for the occasion.

(DeRozan, naturally, face-timed Lowry after his post-game interview session, just to “make sure he got through his big night”)

Having his boys at centre stage was never a question.

“They’ve been a part of this. Just as much as I’ve been a part of them, they’ve been a part of this to help me,” he said. “… I want them to be part of everything — the good, the bad, the celebrations, the celebratory stuff. It’s important for them to see that and be a part of it because they helped me become the man I am today.”

The video was great. Lowry might have been one of the few in the building that didn’t suddenly get some dust in their eyes. It touched every side of Lowry’s Toronto legacy, but he somehow kept his emotions in check.

But when the lights came up and the sound came down — if slightly — it was time to go to work, and the team Lowry left behind with an eye on winning a title in Miami set out to prove Lowry’s legacy lives on.

The Raptors — like their former leader — live to compete.

“I hope to God we ruin his night,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse had said before the game. “We love him, there’s no doubt about that. But you know what my job is now is to kick his ass. We’ll see what happens.”

What happened was a story the Raptors fans are familiar enough this season — at least when they’ve been on the losing end of games they otherwise played well enough to win.

In crunch time of a well-played game either team could have come out ahead on, the Heat had more shot makers — or more guys making shots — than the Raptors did as Miami and Lowry left town with a 114-109 win.

Even on a night without star Jimmy Butler and three rotation players, the ultra-deep Heat got some torrid late-game shooting from the likes of Max Strus and a revitalized Victor Oladipo to keep the Raptors from spoiling Lowry’s homecoming as they were so determined to do.

The Heat pair combined for 13 triples on 18 attempts and made four straight as part of a 14-1 run that broke open a tie game with 5:51 to play and put Miami up 10 with 2:22 on the clock. A Pascal Siakam triple, a driving lay-up and couple of trips to the line weren’t enough to make up any ground, though VanVleet did have a good look at three that would have pulled Toronto within one with 9.9 seconds left that fell short.

The loss snapped the Raptors five-game winning streak as they fell to 45-33 on the season as back into sixth-place in the East, two games up on seventh-place Cleveland with four games left to play. The Heat improved to 51-28 and two games up on Boston for first place in the East.

The energy the Raptors showed up with was no surprise to Lowry. He knows the script when former Raptors return to Toronto: nothing easy.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the Raptors' effort against Miami as a whole. The ceremony seemed to throw them off more than the Heat.

“I hope it's a good learning lesson that we did blow a ton of coverages tonight,” said Nurse. “We haven't done that in a long time. Right? Like we’ve got to make sure — I don't care how many people are in the hallway before the game, we’ve got to be focused in, gotta get focused in and execute what we're doing because if not we're just gonna hope they miss, and they didn't miss.”

Lowry didn’t go off by any stretch, but he finished with 16 points, 10 assists and six rebounds and sparked Miami’s comeback from down 10 to start the third quarter with his playmaking and his defence on VanVleet, who finished with 29 points and seven assists after scoring 21 points in the first half. Siakam finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but the pair also counted nine of the Raptors' 14 turnovers.

Three-point shooting was the difference. Miami was 18-of-38 and Toronto was 12-of-39. The Raptors could have used OG Anunoby, but he was a late scratch due to a bruised thigh suffered Friday night against Orlando.

The Raptors were more than up to the challenge of spoiling Lowry’s big night and knocking off the East’s best team for the third time in four tries this season.

No one more game than Lowry’s protégé as VanVleet came out determined to make Sunday a night Lowry wouldn’t forget, for better or worse. The Raptors point guard gained notice as an undrafted rookie when he picked up Lowry full court on his first day of training camp and refused to back down until he’d made the team.

“Obviously that is what respect looks like,” said VanVleet who earned his first All-Star nomination in his first season filling in for Lowry. “I want to give him my best and he deserves that. He brings out a different competitive edge in myself and one of the reasons why I have been able to grow as a player in this league is because he sets the bar so high. 

“More than anything I just wanted to get the win so obviously not happy about that, but that was a really fun game to be a part of and I’m happy for him that he got that experience here and got to do it with the fans in the building. I’m sure it was everything he deserves and more.”

VanVleet was relishing the competition, though. Late in the second quarter he broke down the defence again and collided with Lowry in mid-air at the basket with VanVleet bouncing off his mentor and finishing easily. When Barnes gave “The Hulk” pose in recognition, VanVleet could only laugh as he made his way back up the floor.

It was nothing Lowry hasn’t experienced before in Toronto, just never as a visitor.

But Lowry wasn’t going to go out that way. Not without a fight. Not in this building. The Raptors led by as much as 13 in the first quarter and 55-45 at the half but Lowry had four quick assists coming out halftime including a quick hitter to Strus for a corner three as part of a 24-13 surge that gave Miami its first lead since the second minute of the game. He also helped keep VanVleet in check, but only for so long. VanVleet shook loose for a triple – his seventh of the game – and then got fouled in the act and made all of his free throws to briefly tie the score before Miami took a 79-78 lead into the fourth.

In the end, it was the perfect homecoming for Lowry. He got the celebration he deserved and the win the Heat needed. There was good reason Lowry was celebrated at centre court before the ball went up, a moment a long time coming that few will forget.

Lowry has done something of everything to deserve the love that showered down on him and that he so sincerely tried to give back with effort night in and night out for so long.

“When we look back over the hard play that this team has exhibited over the year, he certainly got a lot of credit for it and deserves a lot of credit for it, that’s for sure,” said Nurse.

Lowry made his name in the NBA by playing hard and demanding everyone around him do the same. On Sunday the Raptors may have not played up to their own standards — standards set by Lowry in so many ways — but overall, it’s a trait that lives on in Toronto even now that he’s gone.

So no Kyle, thank you.