Sore ankle keeps Raptors G Lowry out of starting lineup

The morning after one of the worst losses of his National Basketball Association career, DeMar DeRozan couldn't wait to face Cleveland again.

The San Antonio Spurs have the advantage in their Western Conference tussle with the Houston Rockets after a 103-92 win saw them take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Toronto simply has no chance to defeat Cleveland when James is at the top of his game and players like Channing Frye and J.R. Smith are connecting with their outside shots. This idea of masking this kind of insulting play as just the flair that the Cavs are known for only emboldens the bully. That's the crappiest part about it.

"You never thought it would come true, but I worked hard and I'm here and I'm just blessed".

Does he wish they'd played again Thursday?

Without Lowry, it would require a resurgence from DeMar DeRozan, who's averaging a pitiful 12 points on 33.3 percent shooting.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry didn't have a problem with James spinning the ball.

Much like the Raptors, it's not too late for DeRozan to turn things around.

The 31-year-old all-star was hurt in Game 2 in Cleveland when Cavs forward Tristan Thompson shoved Toronto's Norm Powell, who hit Lowry sideways as he fell.

Penguins chase Holtby, beat Capitals to take 2-0 series lead
They were relentless, they were drawing penalties, they earned a standing ovation from Capitals fans without even scoring a goal. Kunitz appeared in his 107th playoff game, tying Hall of Famer/co-owner Mario Lemieux for fifth on the Penguins' career list.

"We just tried to do different coverages to try and wear him down", Lue said.

He tries to tune out the negative noise. "You're going into a 15-round [fight]. So, we've got to be more physical but we've got to be smart doing that". They've missed his 25-35 point production, failing to find that level of scoring from elsewhere.

VIDEO: How well do Cavaliers fans know the Toronto Raptors?

They say that a playoff series doesn't truly start until a team loses a game at home, but whoever said that clearly didn't see the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Toronto Raptors. If LeBron is roaming and two guys are blitzing DeRozan, that means at least two of the other four have to be somewhat open. "But losing that way, it's definitely deflating". Lowry did not play in the Game 3 loss Friday, did not practice Saturday and was pessimistic about the ankle improving before Sunday's tipoff at 3:30 p.m. ET.

What he sees are the opportunities just sitting there, waiting to be acted upon. "He just couldn't go". When it rains it pours at this point. "Especially going into that fourth quarter, every single second matters for us to execute on both ends".

"Don't listen the noise, the noise is going to be there good and bad". The amount of breakdowns we had, you can't win that way.

"We came in here (last year) and weren't prepared", Kyrie Irving said. "We've got to go out and physically and mentally do it". Game 3 is set for Friday night at Air Canada Centre. "It's tough to win a game when you only make two 3-pointers".

- And then in last year's epic Game 7 of the Finals, when James recorded a triple-double against Golden State, he had perhaps the signature moment of his career, a late block that delivered Cleveland its first pro sports championship in 52 years. Last year, most people wrote them off after two blowouts in Cleveland.