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ORLANDO — The Toronto Raptors have made a series out of it, the question is: can they win a game?.
They could start by trying to win the first quarter — or at least keep it close — a necessity head coach Sam Mitchell hammered home by promising changes to the starting lineup.
For the second time in as many games, the Raptors fell behind by double figures to the Orlando Magic in the early going, though the Raptors were able to claw back from a 17-point first-half hole and a seven-point disadvantage with less than four minutes to play.
They even had the ball in the hands of franchise player Chris Bosh with a chance to win in the dying seconds. But Bosh's jumper over the reach of the Magic's Dwight Howard fell short and the Raptors did, too, 104-103.
Orlando Magic centre Dwight Howard dunks the ball during Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors in Orlando, Fla. (John Raoux/AP)
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The Raptors trail the best-of-seven first-round playoff series 2-0. The third game will be played tomorrow night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
But as much as Bosh was lamenting a chance to tie the series, he was still frustrated by way the Magic had their way in the opening minutes. In last Sunday's loss, the Raptors allowed the Magic to shoot 9-for-11 from the three-point line. Last night, they allowed them six dunks, four layups and six points from the free-throw line after Magic players were fouled driving to the basket.
"[On Sunday] we gave up layups, we gave up dunks, and that in turn triggered their confidence and they start shooting threes," said Bosh, who played 47 of a possible 48 minutes. "And then we opened up the next game and we're down 14-4 and Hedo Turkoglu goes 94 feet for a dunk. That just can't happen. This is playoff basketball. … The way we're starting games is unacceptable."
So unacceptable that Mitchell pledged to change his starting lineup after changing it to start the series. Mitchell wouldn't say who would be in, but acknowledged that there were some obvious clues.
"It's a different game if the score is tied or if we're down two or three at the end of the first quarter," he said. "So we're going to change the [starting] lineup. I'm not going to say who, but you watched the game, so use your common sense."
The obvious candidates for promotion are Jason Kapono, who came off the bench to score 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Jose Calderon, who was the Raptors' best point guard on a night when he had 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including two fourth-quarter three-pointers that tied the score with two minutes to play.
Those moves would likely mean second-unit duty for T.J. Ford, who was 1-for-8 with four turnovers, including a consecutive pair leading to Magic fast-break dunks in the first quarter. Also sitting would likely be Rasho Nesterovic in order to keep Andrea Bargnani in the lineup, which in turn increases the likelihood that Bosh would be covered by Howard, the Magic's star centre.
It was that matchup that allowed the Raptors to get back in the game. Using his quickness against the Magic big man, Bosh caught fire for 16 of his team-leading 29 points in the second quarter as the Raptors pulled back to tie the score for the first time with a minute left in the half.
The Raptors took their first lead of the series early in the third quarter as they started the half on a 7-0 run. But by then Howard began to assert himself. The sculpted 6-foot-11, 270-pound centre scored 11 of his Magic-best 29 points in the third, while grabbing six of his game-most 20 rebounds.
It was his second successive 20-point, 20-rebound game of the series and marked the first time someone had reached the statistical milestone in consecutive playoff games since Kevin Garnett in 2004.
But Howard's biggest contributions were yet to come. The Magic got two three-pointers by Keith Bogans to give them a 98-91 lead with 3:44 to play, but the Raptors got up off the mat with a 9-2 run, thanks to a three-pointer by Carlos Delfino and two more by Calderon.
Delfino split two free throws to put Toronto up by a point with just more than a minute left and the Raptors looked as though they might have the game in hand when Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis missed three-pointers. But the Raptors couldn't chase down the rebounds and Turkoglu put the Magic ahead.
Then it was Howard's turn. He blocked a drive by Bosh — though the Raptors' captain was looking for a foul on the play. And after Calderon helped the Raptors get the ball back by drawing an elbow from Keyon Dooling with nine seconds left, Bosh couldn't get a jump shot to fall over Howard from the left wing as the buzzer sounded.
