Toronto Raptors will play Cleveland Cavaliers in Eastern Conference finals
Sunday 15 May 2016 23:50, UK
The Toronto Raptors have reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
The Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 116-89 in their decisive Game Seven to set up a clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers for an NBA Finals berth.
They had never been beyond the Conference semi-finals since entering the league in 1995 when the NBA expanded into Canada.
Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 35 points, with DeMar DeRozan adding 28 in a game that turned into a rout in the final 12 minutes.
Until then, the under-manned Heat had stayed close to their opponents, trailing by eight points and leaving themselves in position for a late rally.
But Lowry, DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo (17 points and 16 rebounds) dominated the fourth period and extended their lead to 27 points in front of a delighted Rogers Centre crowd.
Toronto need a Game Seven in their series against Indiana and are the 15th team to have to go to a deciding game twice in the same post-season.
They now face a rested Cavaliers team who beat the Atlanta Hawks 4-0 and have not played since May 8 - the opening match takes place in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
