The Orlando Magic shocked the Raptors on Sunday, stealing home court advantage with a big 104-101 Game 1 win.
D.J. Augustin led the way for the Magic with 25 points, six assists and the game-winning three with 3.4 seconds left.
👌.J. AUGUSTIN#BlueAndWhiteIgnite pic.twitter.com/ZY0lkftNLB
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 13, 2019
Game 2 is set for Wednesday in Toronto at 10:30 a.m.
Here are five takeaways from Game 1...
A playoff career-high for Pascal Siakam
It was Siakam, not Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors in scoring for most of Game 1. He had a quiet second quarter when the Magic took the lead with a huge run, but he was at the centre of Toronto's run in the third quarter that saw them regain control of the game.
Siakam then came up big down the stretch on both ends of the court, scoring six points on offence and blocking two shots on defence, both of which came on back-to-back possessions.
Siakam finished the game with a playoff career-high 24 points. It took him 24 shot attempts to get there — a credit to Orlando's defence — but he made almost as many baskets (12) as Leonard, Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry combined (15).
Siakam also had nine rebounds, four assists and one assist in the game.
The Raptors are going to need much more of that from Siakam in the coming weeks in order to advance.
Kawhi Leonard almost saves the day
Kawhi Leonard was clutch once again for the Raptors.
With Toronto down 99-96 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Leonard helped them retake the lead by scoring five quick points. He first drained a tough step back 3-pointer, followed by a baseline jumper to put the Raptors up 101-99.
Unfortunately for Leonard, it wasn't quite enough. D.J. Augustin was equally as clutch, responding with five quick points himself in the final minute to put the Magic ahead, and Leonard missed a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left that would've sent the game into overtime.
Augustin steps up
Augustin was the difference-maker in this one, and we're not just talking about the clutch three that eventually won the Magic the game.
He got things going for Orlando, scoring 19 in the first half on near-perfect shooting. He disappeared in the third quarter but made his presence felt in the fourth when the team needed him most.
Augustin scored the final five points of the game for the Magic, including this cold-blooded 3-pointer to put the Raptors away on their home court in Game 1:
:ok_hand:.J. AUGUSTIN#BlueAndWhiteIgnite pic.twitter.com/ZY0lkftNLB
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 13, 2019
Augustin finished with a team-high 25 points and six assists. He shot 9-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range, including a perfect 2-for-2 in the clutch.
According to Basketball Reference, this is just the second time in his 10-year career (and the first time in the playoffs) that he's hit a shot with five seconds or less on the clock to win the game.
Where was Kyle Lowry?
With 3:18 left in the game, Lowry was scoreless on 0-for-7 from the field in 30 minutes of game time.
The Raptors were down 94-92. He finished the game with zero points and didn't shoot the ball again.
At that same point in the game, D.J. Augustin had 20 points. He finished the game with a game-high 25 points and hit the game-winning three to steal Game 1 away from Toronto.
Game 1s haven't been kind to Kyle Lowry. The Raptors have made the playoffs now in six straight seasons since 2013-14 — they're now 1-5 in the opening game of the playoffs.
In his career with the Raptors, Lowry is 1-9 in Game 1s. His averages? Not great: 10.8 points per game shooting 31.7 percent from the field.
Lowry has played good in some of those Game 1s and obviously sub-par in others, but Sunday was by far his worst in that stretch.
Kyle Lowry was 0-7 FG (including 0-6 3PT) for 0 points in Game 1, adding 7 rebounds and 8 assists for a 45.5 offensive rating - his worst in an #NBAPlayoffs game since joining the Raptors.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 13, 2019
📊 https://t.co/xg51WvaU0b pic.twitter.com/1IFxDAFSOq
Lowry wasn't the reason why the Raptors lost Game 1 and he shouldn't shoulder the blame for the loss, but if the Toronto truly wants to compete for a championship, Lowry can't afford to play like he did in Game 1.
Expect Lowry to bounce back in Game 2 on Wednesday, but it's going to be a long two days before then.
Raptors Game 1 woes continue
There's just something about Game 1 and the Raptors.
The Magic now have the home court advantage after grinding out the win, with another slow start hampering the Raptors' playoff campaign.
The Magic closed as 9.5-point underdog today, their biggest upset win in a playoff game in franchise history.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 14, 2019
The Raptors are now 2-14 in Game 1s, the 2nd-worst record by any team in NBA history (min. 2 games). pic.twitter.com/Jqq7dE4nFc
Since 2013-14, the Raptors are now 1-5 in their opening game of the first round.
Throughout the entire playoffs, that number doesn't look much better at 2-14 in Game 1s all-time.
