Raptors get their ‘heartbeat’ back with return of Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry did not expect to be out three weeks when lower back soreness flared up in mid-December.

He figured he would be good to go — for good — by Toronto’s visit to Philadelphia on Dec. 22, a game in which he played nearly 31 minutes and scored 20 points but somehow never really look like himself.

Another six games off, coupled with pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections, were necessary before Lowry returned once again against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.