The Toronto Raptors’ fan base is one of the best in the NBA and they showed why again when they sarcastically cheered Kyle Lowry’s first playoff point.
Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry really wanted to get the goose egg off of his playoff score sheet, and so did the Raptors faithful.
After an opening game in which Lowry didn’t score a single point, and was also dominated by his Orlando Magic counterpart D.J. Augustin, Lowry set out to atone for that debacle of a Game 1.
When Game 2 tipped off, it was a different, more aggressive Lowry that greeted the Magic, and early on, he was fouled and was sent to the line to finally get that zero written off of the score sheet. An 83 percent free throw shooter, Lowry was in his comfort zone, but remember: He missed both of his free throw attempts in Game 1, so it wasn’t set in stone that Lowry would make his first two free throws of the contest.
He missed the first, and many, not only in Raptors Nation but in the NBA, were questioning if Lowry’s confidence had been shaken. Then, as if the Basketball Gods looked down upon him and laid their powerful hands on the basketball, Lowry’s second free throw went in, which sent the red-clad, sellout crowd at Scotiabank Arena, and at a Toronto bar, into a sarcastic frenzy.
These were the same fans that, 48 hours earlier, had endlessly ridiculed him for this Game 1 abomination, so it had to feel good for Lowry to finally get off the scoreless train.
That free throw set the tone for Lowry for the rest of Game 2, and he bounced back with a 22-point night on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, far more like the Lowry we’re used to seeing. Now, let’s see if he can keep the groove going when the series shifts to Orlando on Friday.