Before the game, Miami Heat Head Coach, Erik Spoelstra hinted at a better game between desperate teams after a “disappointing” matchup on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for Erik, none of his players got the memo.
Toronto routed Miami for the second game in a row, winning 128-114. The Raptors were led by Brandon Ingram, who finished with a season-high 38 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. RJ Barrett added 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Collin Murray-Boyles was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, finishing
with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block off the bench. For Miami, Bam Adebayo improved on his no-show on Tuesday with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists.
The outcome was never really in doubt as the Raptors played according to plan. “I thought that taking care of the ball was a big, big part of our game plan”, said Darko Rajakovic after the game. Toronto finished the game with only four turnovers (three if you remove garbage time).
Following a 26-point beatdown just two nights prior, the Heat sent an early message that Miami would not be laying another goose egg. The game was barely 95 seconds old when Darko Rajakovic called the first timeout as the Heat raced out to a quick 7-0 lead.
Fun moment: Herro shot waved off. Before fans could finish cheering, as if on queue, Herro took the inbound pass and scored in the exact same fashion.
With the Heat up 16-8 and Barnes out of the game with two quick fouls, Toronto ramped up the defensive intensity and went on a 15-4 run, fueled by 8 points from the Raptors’ other All-Star, Brandon Ingram.
Ingram ended the first quarter leading all scorers with 10 points. He also almost ended Kel’el Ware.
Toronto led Miami 32-26 after the first quarter. Among the many bright spots, RJ Barrett scoring 9 points in aggressive fashion, the Raptors over coming the slow start and, fairly noteworthy considering their struggles earlier in the season, scoring with ease when the Heat tried defending with a zone.
Active hands from Collin Murray-Boyles. After a missed corner three from Ja’Kobe Walter, Miami corralled the rebound but CMB deflected the outlet pass and came down with the steal. He quickly dished to Walter, who took advantage of the second chance and nailed the three.
Similar to Tuesday’s matchup, the Raptors turned up the aggression in the second quarter. Consistent drives to the basket led to kickouts for three or Miami fouls. Toronto was in the bonus over 4 minutes into the quarter. Miami’s biggest culprit was Vaughan native, Andrew Wiggins, who picked up his third foul just seconds into the frame.
Despite being in control for most of the first half, the Raptors couldn’t quite run away from the Heat — desperate to not replicate Tuesday’s disappointing effort. Led by Tyler Herro’s and Davion Mitchell’s effective drives, the Heat chipped away at the lead. With Bam Adebayo anchoring himself in the paint and thwarting drives to the basket, Miami whittled the lead down to 45-44.
Just like the first quarter, it was Ingram who spearheaded another Toronto run. He scored 5 points and assisted on a Jamal Shead three to push the lead back to nine. By the time Erik Spoelstra called his next timeout, the Raptors had already pushed the lead back up to 58-46.
Toronto didn’t stop there. Credit the team’s defensive pressure or Miami losing focus or Ingram seemingly on a mission to drop 50, but the Raptors pushed the lead to 69-50 at halftime. Ingram finished the half with 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Murray-Boyles was a game-high +20 off the bench with 10 points — on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting — 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. The Raptors carried its largest lead into halftime, despite having zero points on zero attempts in transition — normally a driving force behind a blowout.
Hopefully the vibes carry over to the Blue Jays?
Miami came out of halftime with desperate energy. Hell-bent on getting back into the game quickly, it only took four minutes for the Heat to equal its first half output from beyond the arc, nailing 3 triples and narrowing the lead down to 79-64.
The Heat’s comeback continued with 5 more triples. Combined with several one-and-done possessions for the Raptors, Miami turned what was a 26-point deficit to 6, as Toronto clung to an 89-83 lead.
For the third consecutive quarter, Ingram scored in double-figures. While almost half of his first half points came from the charity stripe, all of Ingram’s scoring in the quarter came from the field — with a higher degree of difficulty as the Heat focused more of it defensive pressure on the All-Star.
Toronto ended the third quarter with a 102-90 lead. Miami stayed in the game with some hot shooting, draining 9 of 12 three-point attempts.
With Miami’s offense reignited and the Raptors lead in a precarious position, Barnes produced a mini 5-0 run to start the final frame, causing Spoelstra to call a timeout. The Heat could not replicate its success from three, missing each of its first 4 attempts. Toronto capitalized on the offensive end, growing the lead to 114-92, forcing another Miami timeout.
The Heat, who have now lost 10 of its last 13 games and can finish no higher than 9th, are crawling towards the play-in tournament. If the last two performances are any indication, Miami’s season should be over in a couple of days and will be defined by one magical night when Bam Adebayo scored 83 points.
The Raptors finish the road portion of its regular season schedule with the last back-to-back of the season in New York on Friday. With only two games remaining, there are still huge implications for the Atlantic Division rivals. The Knicks can still finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the East standings, while the Raptors can finish anywhere from 5th to 8th. Toronto also swept the season series against Atlanta, and own the season series against Charlotte and Orlando.
