Toronto Raptors look to bounce back after blowout loss to Cavaliers

The rough night continued for Kyle Lowry after the Raptors’ 128-110 blowout loss to Cleveland on Thursday.

“I didn’t sleep the night after,” the Toronto all-star guard said ahead of Game 3 Saturday of the Eastern Conference semifinal with the Cavaliers. “It was just one of those games where you’re just kind of like ‘Man, what happened?’ and you try to figure it out.

“This is our job so we really do care every time we step on this floor. It means something to us,” he added. “The other night after, I didn’t sleep. Just a tough night. But it’s a new day. It’s nice outside. We’ve got to come here and do our job. We’re excited for the opportunity that we still have in hand. We’ve got to go out and play basketball at a high level.”

On the plus side, Lowry said he slept great Friday night. “Because I didn’t sleep the night before,” he said with a smile. “(It) cancels out.”

---

Related stories:

#LeBronto memes surface after Cavs rout Raptors in Game 2

Raptors unfazed by jokes at their expense as series with Cavs heads to Cleveland

Toronto heads to Cleveland in familiar spot, trailing Cavaliers 2-0 in series

---

Coach Dwane Casey hopes to see that kind of bounce-back Saturday night as the Raptors look to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole at Quicken Loans Arena. He understands the cocktail of emotions his team has gone through.

“They should be pissed off, upset,” he said prior to Saturday’s shootaround. “I tell them not to read or hear or listen to (things). But a month ago, everybody was crowning them and now everybody’s burying us.

“We understand that. They understand that. That’s sports, that’s the business we’re in. It hurts but the only way you can do something about it is come out here and do it on the court.”

The Raptors finished the regular season as top seeds in the East with a 59-23 record, nine games ahead of fourth-place Cleveland (50-32).

But the Cavaliers have won eight straight playoff games against the Raptors, dating back to the 2016 conference final.

Toronto somehow lost the series opener by one point in overtime in a game that saw the Cavs fail to register a lead in regulation time. LeBron James (43 points) and Kevin Love (31 points) put on a show in Game 2, rolling over the Raptors in the second half en route to a 128-110 victory.

Bookmakers have Cleveland at around a 4.5-point favourite Saturday.

Asked how he slept after the Game 2 blowout, star guard DeMar DeRozan said he never sleeps well.

“That’s probably a first for (Lowry) but it’s every night for me,” said DeRozan.

“Right after (the game), you just try to forget about it, try not to think about because it was a tough loss, it was embarrassing,” he added. “We didn’t want to go out like that, especially on our home floor — drop two (games).”

After Thursday’s loss, Lowry called for a change in attitude.

“We need more effort, way more effort,” he said. “We’ve got to play harder, somehow, some way.”

That may involve different personnel.

Asked how much though he had given to changing his lineup, Casey said: “A lot.”

Power forward Serge Ibaka was ineffective Thursday with just two points in 12 minutes.

Turnovers have been a key in the series, with the Raptors outscored 34-8 in points off 24 giveaways over the first two games. Cleveland had a total of nine turnovers, including a franchise-low three in Game 2.

DeRozan called for the Raptors to apply more pressure, in a bid to force more turnovers.

Game 4 is Monday in Cleveland.