After a stellar win against the Charlotte Hornets, the Miami Heat looked to put on another winning performance as they hosted the Toronto Raptors. In the last game, the Heat lost to the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre in a 87 to 96 loss. Heading into this game, the Heat looked for more retribution against the Raptors.
The Heat started with 8 for 8 shooting to start the game and led the way with a score of 15 to 8. Afterwards, the Raptors went on a seven to nothing run, but Miami managed to close the first quarter with a score of 32 to 26.
Tyler Johnson and Willie Reed made two slam dunks for Miami to open the second quarter, while Norman Powell and Jonas Valanciunas (pronounced Val-lan-joon-us) made a slam dunk and a mid-range basket for Toronto. With Miami leading 40 to 32, Wayne Ellington entered the game for Miami, making a three-pointer and two free throws. With the Heat leading 45 to 34, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside picked up the scoring load for Miami, along with Dion Waiters. Miami’s defense made its presence felt to close the second quarter as they led 59 to 41.
The third quarter started off on bad note as Dragic would get hit in the face by Cory Joseph’s forearm. Dragic would leave the game, only to return back to the bench with an ice pack, covering his left eye. Nevertheless, the Heat continued to maintain their lead with a score of 69 to 47. The Raptors looked to rally back in the game as Joseph and DeMar DeRozan led the way for them. With Miami leading 76 to 55, they went on a nine to eight run to end the third quarter, leading 85 to 63.
Delon Wright started the fourth quarter with a basket and two free throws for Toronto. Patrick Patterson was ejected from the game after confronting a referee. This led to Josh Richardson making a technical free throw, followed by a slam dunk. With Miami leading 88 to 69, the Raptors continued to rally back in the game, but the Heat managed to stave them off with their defense, leading Miami to a 104 to 89 victory.
The Miami Heat have now won 21 out of 25 games since mid-January are now in ninth place of the Eastern Conference Standings. The main factor that helped Miami with their victory was their defense. Miami were sending shots backwards and even contesting baskets. Another factor that helped Miami was their offense and ball movement.
Miami did a lot of ball movement, which opened their offense. One final factor that helped Miami was their improved three-point shooting. The Heat’s three-point shooting is what made the difference in their offense.
”We know where we started at,” Johnson said in a televised postgame interview. ”There’s no pressure.”
For the Toronto Raptors, DeMar DeRozan had 17 points, Norman Powell with 14 points, Delon Wright made 13 points, and Jonas Valanciunas with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Miami Heat, Dion Waiters led the way with 20 points, Tyler Johnson with 16 points, Goran Dragic made 15 points, James Johnson with 12 points, Wayne Ellington made 11 points, and Hassan Whiteside with a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Miami Heat hit the road as to face the Indiana Pacers. That game starts tomorrow at 6pm and will be televised locally on Sun Sports and nationally on NBA League Pass.
The Heat Check Magazine 