<
>

Raptors' Lowry: Thumb, treatment affect passing

Toronto Raptors star point guard Kyle Lowry tried to avoid discussing his left thumb injury on Wednesday during NBA Finals media day -- but he did admit it's affecting his play.

"It's about passing. I'm a big passer," Lowry said during an appearance on ESPN's The Jump.

"You know, the flicking of the passing, the kind of -- the ball movement, handling the ball. During the game, honestly, I can't feel my thumb," he said, alluding to the treatment he is receiving to numb the pain in his non-shooting hand.

Lowry suffered the injury during the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I'll have to take care of it after the season but I don't want to talk about it as much," he said on The Jump as his Raptors prepare to face the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday in Toronto.

"I haven't complained about it, I won't complain about it, I don't care about it; I'm going to continue to do the things I need to do to make sure I can play at a high level. And that's it."

Raptors coach Nick Nurse admitted during the conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks that Lowry was playing through pain.

"Kyle's hand is not great," Nurse said last week. "You know, he's -- it's hurt and it's sore and it causes him a lot of pain. But he seems to be able to manage it through the game and do what he can do.

"He's obviously scoring and playing great on top of the other things he always does, and we're really [seeing] a heck of a lot of toughness and again, the spirit that he just wants to be out there and help his team any way he can."

ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.