The Toronto Raptors were looking to continue their 4-game winning streak facing off against the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat have a lot on the line in this game since the outcome will decide who they get matched up with in the first round of the NBA playoffs. With a loss in tonight’s game, Miami could drop to 8th place and face the Toronto Raptors in the first round. The Raptors could get their 60th win of the season if they pull out a win tonight against the Miami Heat.
The game started with both teams trading blows. Both teams are good defensive teams, but this one turned out to be a high scoring affair. The Raptors were not resting anyone in this game, but Goran Dragic was out with injury in this one. Hassan Whiteside was attacking the offensive glass and creating extra opportunities for the Heat. Lowry set the tempo early and was leading the charge. He was efficient from the floor and was able to score from the outside. The Miami Heat have played the Raptors tough this year and this game did not feel any different. The first quarter ended with the Raptors leading 29-27.
The second quarter was typically how these teams played during the regular season. It became a grind to put any points on the board. DeRozan was having a quiet game and looked uncomfortable from the physicality. For most of the quarter, the teams could not separate themselves and it felt like a playoff atmosphere. Every basket was tough and was highly contested. Toronto were able to get to the line and put up points via the free throw line. DeMar DeRozan got it going near the end of the first half and hit back-to-back tough baskets to go up 53-47 at halftime.
The Raptors got off to a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter, but it never felt as if the Raptors had total control of this game. The turnovers started to pile up for the Raptors and the Heat were able to chip into the lead. Toronto’s shooting went cold for a stretch near the end of the third quarter which allowed the Miami Heat to get back into this game. Kelly Olynyk’s activity on the offensive and defensive end flipped the momentum and the crowd got into it. The Raptors missed chances to stop the Heat’s momentum. CJ Miles missed three consecutive shots and struggled once again in this one. The Heat closed off the quarter strong but were trailing 78-71.
The Bench Mob started the fourth quarter and were being outplayed by the Miami bench. The Heat’s defense picked up in the fourth quarter and the bench were struggling to get shots off. The Heat forced a shot clock violation as the bench did not know where to go with the basketball down the stretch. Kelly Olynyk led the Heat bench on a 9-2 run and then drew the charge on Fred VanVleet on the defensive end. Dwane Casey resorted back to his starters to close out the game. Both teams traded blow for blow and big basket after big basket. Kyle Lowry was able to score 4 points in a row to give the Raptors the slim 95-93 lead with less than 4 minutes to go.
This is where the physicality of the Miami Heat took over. Serge Ibaka catches an elbow from Kelly Olynyk inadvertently which sends Ibaka to the ground for the play. The Heat capitalize on the 5 on 4 with a Wayne Ellington 3. Ibaka’s teeth were loose and he did not feel good enough to get back in the game. Siakam was subbed in and the Raptors were unable to get a basket on the following play. Ellington hits another 3 to give the Heat the 4-point lead. A couple big plays from the Raptors tied the game at 99-99. Erik Spolestra draws up another play for Ellington and he knocks down another three. Ellington had been struggling the past six games, but was playing out of his mind against the Raptors. Ellington to this point had 15 points in the fourth quarter and was unstoppable. Lowry responded with a three to tie the game up once again.
VanVleet gets clipped by the Bam Adebayo screen and goes down to the ground. Heat unable to score on the 5 on 4 and the Raptors had to call another timeout. Casey livid at the referees for allowing these dirty plays. VanVleet is diagnosed with a right shoulder bruise and did not return. The screen was illegal, but the referees allowed the play to go forward. CJ Miles was also hit a couple times in this game, but was subbed into the game for VanVleet. DeRozan hits 1/2 free throws to give the Raptors an one-point lead. Toronto had the ball with the one-point lead with less a minute to go but could not extend the lead. Ellington hits another 3 off the dribble hand-off. Raptors were down two with 22 seconds left in the game. Casey draws up a play to have DeMar catch the ball in the backcourt and get off to a running start attacking the Heat defense. DeMar able to attract all the attention and kicks to Delon Wright in the corner for 3 who misses the shot, but Poeltl was able to tip in the rebound to tie the game 105-105. Toronto were able to make a stop and force overtime. These missed free throws and missed threes were way too many opportunities to give up in such a tight game.
The Heat go to Wayne Ellington constantly in the overtime and the Raptors were unable to keep up with him. Winslow bullied his way into the lane and drew fouls consistently. The defense from the Raptors had started to lag and Ellington was able to take Wright from the three-point line into the paint and finish in the lane to push the deficit to 6. Miles, DeRozan, and Lowry miss open threes down the stretch and the Heat iced the game with free throws. A tough game to swallow especially going into the playoffs. The Heat bench lit the Raptors up in this game for 75 points compared to the Raptors bench which put up 43 points. The Raptors got a taste of their own medicine as the Heat bench won this game and more specifically Wayne Ellington’s hot shooting. The Raptors had no answer to the dribble hand-offs and too many defensive breakdowns led to easy looks for the hottest shooter in the building. Toronto has to refocus and get ready for the Washington Wizards who rested John Wall and lost their final game to match up with the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Miami Heat moved up to the sixth seed and will face the streaking Philadelphia 76ers.
Toronto Raptors Miami Heat
109 116
Player of the Game
Kyle Lowry
38 minutes, 28 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 10/20 shooting, 5/10 3PT, 3/4 FT, -1
Kyle Lowry set the tempo from the beginning of the game and made big shots in the fourth quarter to give the Raptors a chance to win. He even took upon himself the duty of guarding Wayne Ellington a couple possessions and prevented him from getting any good looks at the rim. But it was not enough as Ellington and the Heat made a couple more plays to win this one. If Lowry plays how he played tonight, the Raptors will have a good chance to go deep into the playoffs. The floor general is key for this team to win games and if he is not on his game, the bigs on the team suffer. JV especially gets great looks off of Lowry’s penetration and pick-and-rolls. Another great outing for Lowry who almost recorded a triple-double in this one.
Things To Take Away From This Game
1. Shooting
The Raptors suffered from poor shooting once again and can not make this a habit. CJ Miles the Raptors’ acquisition to shore up the shooting issue has been streaky bad over the past two weeks except for one game. He has the ability to catch fire similar to Wayne Ellington and hopefully he is able to knock down the open ones on Saturday against the Washington Wizards. Lowry knocked down 5 of the 9 threes on the night, the rest of the team had only 4. The 9/30 shooting as a team will not translate into wins. The team has to get back into the gym and shoot the ball with confidence. This is a team that is very capable of knocking down the shots and have been all season long.
2. Injuries
A topic of concern that arose from the aftermath of this Miami Heat game. The entire Raptors team had to play a very physical Miami Heat team and suffered two injuries. Serge Ibaka who got elbowed from Kelly Olynyk will have to go to the dentist and get his teeth checked out. Fred VanVleet has been listed as day-to-day with the right shoulder bruise after a collision with Bam Adebayo on a screen. Bebe was available for the game tonight, but Casey elected to give him more time to recover. The Raptors need to be 100% healthy on Saturday to take on a Washington Wizards team that purposely lost their final game to match up with the Toronto Raptors.
3. Changes
The Raptors have had a culture reset this season and it will be interesting to see if it does translate over to the playoffs. Casey has gone with the Bench Mob in clutch situations and has played them a lot of minutes this season. People around the league believe rotations should be tighter once playoffs start and play your best 7-8 guys and run with it. But Casey does not believe there is any rule in the book that says you have to play a shorter rotation and will stick with the Bench Mob who helped bring this team where it is today. Also, the ball movement and 3-point shooting will have to be present in this year’s playoffs. The isolation basketball that was run last year can only take you so far as the Raptors have learned painfully by experience. It will be interesting to see how this team carries itself into the 2018 post-season.
Pictures courtesy of:
http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapsheat-041118