Lowry says it's time for Raptors to make 2nd round: 'We have to do this'
For the second time in three years, the Toronto Raptors find themselves leading their first-round series 3-2, a game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semis for the first time since 2001 - and winning a seven-game series for the first time in franchise history.
The Raptors won a franchise-best 56 games this season, then needed a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 and avoid facing an elimination game on the road. They know they can't afford to squander this opportunity. Not this time. Not again.
"We have to do this," point guard Kyle Lowry told The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, hours after the Raptors effectively saved their season.
Toronto's roster has undergone a few makeovers since Lowry was traded to the team in 2012, but the core - powered by him and All-Star backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan - has remained largely unchanged. That core has flamed out of the playoffs in the first round, against lower-seeded teams, the last two years, with Lowry and DeRozan's poor performances doing the team no favors.
Each has had his ups and downs this postseason already, but Lowry is determined to fight through his struggles - and a troublesome shooting elbow - and finally get his team over the hump.
"The two of us, we want to leave a legacy," he said of himself and DeRozan. "We want to be great. We are not OK with just being good players who made a few All-Star Games. We've wanted this to be our team, our organization.
"And I still haven't played well. Everyone, they can all keep talking about me. I'll grab it and put it on my shoulders. I haven't played well, and I understand that. So keep putting it on me, because I've got to play better."
Lowry knows the Raptors are considered playoff chokers. He knows they'll be seen that way until they prove otherwise. He's ready to prove it.
"We know what it is," he said. "We hear it. We've played with the pressure on our shoulders. We've been here three years now. That's the biggest thing: the first round - we've got to get out of the first round. We have to get that monkey off our back."
They'll get their first crack at it Friday night when they play Game 6 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.