TORONTO — When the Toronto Raptors called their first timeout six minutes into Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Kyle Lowry put his hands on his hips and leaned forward at the waist. He remained bent for a moment, before straightening up and walking delicately over to his bench. He opted not to join his teammates in their seats, instead standing upright as a kangaroo while the music blared and his coaches yelled around him. Nothing good could come from sitting down.
That’s because Lowry was playing through an incredibly stiff back during his team’s 118-93 victory Monday night. It’s an issue that’s been bothering him since an awkward landing in Game 3 of this series, but it reached a new level of discomfort on Monday before the game, putting Lowry’s status for Game 5 into question until about an hour before tip-off.
Or at least that’s what the team said. Even though Lowry missed the Raptors’ morning shootaround and spent most of his day stretching and receiving treatment, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which he actually missed Monday night’s game, short of maybe spinal surgery.
"I’m alright—it’s the playoffs," Lowry said after putting up 16 points and 10 assists. "I just want to be out there with my guys. There’s nothing like that. So, for me, I’m going to take the bumps and bruises to be able to go on the floor and be with our guys."
He definitely got his wish in that regard. Less than 10 minutes into the game, Lowry was sent flying as he stood in front of a charging Greg Monroe, drawing an offensive foul for his trouble. It wasn’t the last time he’d be sent sprawling to the hardwood, as Lowry drew six fouls in the game and didn’t hesitate to go diving after loose balls.
Even when he checked out of the game, Lowry remained on the floor, bypassing his team’s bench and instead lying down on his back along the baseline next to a pair of Raptors staff folding towels.
"Once you stop, it sucks. Sitting down sucks," Lowry said. "You’ve got to just keep going."
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey did what he could to manage Lowry’s stress, constantly communicating with the 31-year-old about the degree of limitation he was experiencing. Naturally, Lowry still ended up with a team-high 36 minutes.
"I kept checking with him during the game: How are you feeling? How are you doing?" Casey said. "If you leave him out too long, his back stiffens up even more. That’s what we had to watch. But we were going on feel—how he felt.
"Your back is no joke. It’s one of those things that affects everything. Whether it’s your defence, your offence, whatever it is. But I thought he played through it as well as could be expected."
Lowry missed all three shots he took in the first quarter (he was still a team-high plus-13), but he started the second by scoring 10 of the Raptors’ first 15 points, taking on the lion’s share of ball handling duties with DeMar DeRozan on the bench.
When he checked out with five minutes remaining in the half, Lowry hobbled over to his baseline headquarters and was slowly lowered onto his back by teammates Jakob Poeltl and Lucas Nogueira. He probably thought he’d spend the rest of the half right there.
But while Lowry was prone on the sidelines, his teammates were falling apart. The 17-point lead the Raptors held when Lowry left the game shrunk to 10 over the next two minutes, until Casey’s hand was forced. Lowry gingerly picked himself back up off the floor, shook his head, and re-entered the game.
Now, who’s to say the Raptors wouldn’t have pulled themselves together and stopped the Bucks’ run without Lowry back on the floor. Basketball’s a funny game like that. But as soon as Lowry checked back in, the bleeding stopped, and the Raptors went into halftime with a nine-point lead. In the final minute of the half, Lowry was especially vocal and commanding, yelling out orders and motioning to his teammates as he carried the ball up the floor.
He started the second half in distributor mode, moving the ball quickly to his teammates, letting DeRozan handle the drives, and picking up a pair of assists in the first two minutes (he finished the third quarter with five assists in nine minutes, and not a single shot attempt).
About four minutes into the third, Lowry casually dribbled the ball up the floor, made a slick behind-the-back move to get past Khris Middleton, shot straight beneath the Bucks basket, and found an unguarded Norman Powell in the corner. Powell drained a three right in front of the Bucks bench, taking advantage of a look that was so open because Lowry ran off his drive directly into Tony Snell, impeding the Bucks guard just enough to give Powell the time he needed.
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Lowry started the fourth but had to come off two minutes into the quarter, returning to his baseline spot and getting stretched out by a Raptors trainer ("It kind of caught on him a little bit," Casey said). But less than a minute later, Lowry was back on his feet and into the game, creating havoc under the Bucks basket on his first possession before dishing to P.J. Tucker, who drew a foul and hit both his free throws.
And he went on like that for the rest of the fourth—running the floor, dictating the offence, pointing out assignments in the Raptors end, drawing fouls, and diving after loose balls, bad back be damned. With his team up 23 and only three minutes remaining, Lowry checked out of the game for good, had an ice pack wrapped around his lower back, and spent the rest of the night lying down on the sidelines.
"He played through it—he’s a tough kid," Casey said. "You’re going to have to take an arm and a leg off of him before you keep him from playing."
