Raptors coach Dwane Casey was asked about the physical condition of his star point guard, Kyle Lowry.
“He’s got a sore knee, he got knocked on his knee,” Casey said. “Busted [up his] nose, busted lip. He’s been in a 15-round bout, but he’s going to be OK.”
Yeah, but you should see the other guy.
“That’s a great analogy right there,” Lowry, after limping his way to the end of the Raptors’ frustrating 102-98 Game 3 loss to the Nets Friday, said of the prize fight comparison.
Lowry, who scored 15 points and shot 4-of-9 from the floor, made the physical nature of the series an item for the top of the Raptors’ “to-do” list.
“Tonight, they out-physicaled us,” Lowry said. “But we’ll learn from this. We’ll get better. [We’ve got to] just play. We’ve got to be more physical. They’re bringing a physical nature. We’ve got to bring our physical nature from the jump.”
Especially in a hostile arena. The Raptors knew it would be that, although general manager Masai Ujiri, whose pep rally “F— Brooklyn” speech sparked much of the feud, said he encountered “no problems, everyone has been fine.”
And after physical play, they must address turnovers.
“We’re turning it over too much,” Lowry said after Toronto’s 19-turnover mess. “We’ve got to figure that out now. Not tomorrow. Now.”
The Raptors, obviously, were less than thrilled with the officiating, particularly a foul call and a technical on Greivis Vasquez with 47.3 second s left as they were trying to complete a most improbable comeback from a 15-point deficit. But after getting in position to tie, the Raptors fell short.
“Very encouraging. It’s encouraging, but frustrating at the same time because we stand a chance to tie the game with 16 seconds left,” Lowry said of the rally that tried to erase a 15-point deficit with 5:02 left.
“Unfortunately we missed free throws but that’s part of the game. We still put ourselves in a situations where, down [15] with a chance to tie with 16 seconds to go. So, a very encouraging fight.”
There’s that word again. And Lowry, who fouled out — part of the foul situation that plagued the Raptors who also saw double-double center Jonas Valanciunas saddled with personals much of the night — had the fat lip mug that showed he battled. A bloodied lip and ice for the rest of his aches.
“A lot. A whole lot [of ice], but it’s part of the playoffs. I’m excited to be icing up around this time,” Lowry said.
And despite his aches and pains, Lowry didn’t even blink when asked about his Sunday Game 4 availability.
“Is that a trick question?” he said.