The Miami Heat’s first matchup of the season against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 17 included 22 lead changes. Their second meeting on Saturday went down as only the fourth triple-overtime game in Heat history.
The teams’ third meeting in 16 days produced another wild one.
The Raptors (26-23) rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Heat 110-106 on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena on the second night of a back-to-back for both teams. It marked third straight loss for the Heat (32-20) and the end of a rare stretch of four games in five nights for Miami.
Ahead by 15 points with 10:56 left in the third quarter, the Raptors outscored the Heat 60-41 the rest of the way.
The Raptors led by eight with 1:43 to play and the Heat managed to cut the deficit to two points with 6.7 seconds remaining. But following a timeout, Toronto rookie Scottie Barnes found OG Anunoby for an open layup off an inbounds pass to push the lead to four and end Miami’s hopes of a comeback of its own.
Toronto took advantage of 15 offensive rebounds to score 19 second-chance points and also turned 17 Miami turnovers into 24 points.
The Heat shot just 40 percent from the field and 2 of 16 from three-point range in the second half.
The Raptors were led by Gary Trent Jr, who finished with a game-high 33 points with the help of 6-of-10 shooting on threes.
The Heat looked to be in control early, entering halftime with a 12-point lead. Miami shot 57.9 percent from the field and 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) from three-point range in the first two quarters.
But the Raptors dominated the second half.
Bam Adebayo was a force for the Heat in the loss, finishing with 32 points and 11 rebounds
The Heat continues its six-game trip on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs. Miami is 0-2 to start the trip.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Raptors:
Adebayo was aggressive and put together one of his best offensive performances of the season.
With the Raptors using 6-7 and 225-pound rookie rookie forward Scottie Barnes to defend Adebayo for most of the game, the Heat made sure to take advantage of Adebayo’s size advantage at 6-9 and 255 pounds early and often.
Adebayo recorded nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 shooting from the foul line and four rebounds in his first eight-minute stint of the game.
But Adebayo didn’t stop there, scoring 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line in the second quarter.
Adebayo finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds. He scored 24 paint points.
Getting Adebayo more involved on offense was a necessary adjustment for the Heat after Adebayo turned in a quiet 14-point performance with Barnes defending him for most of the night in Saturday’s triple-double over loss to the Raptors.
Before Tuesday’s impressive outing, Adebayo combined to total just 28 points on 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) shooting from the field in the Heat’s first two games against the Raptors.
The Heat found a way to slow down the Raptors’ prolific transition game, but it didn’t matter.
Running off Heat turnovers and misses, Toronto outscored Miami by a combined score of 44-18 in fast-break points in the teams’ first two matchups of the season. That includes a 24-14 edge in fast-break points in Saturday’s triple-overtime win over the Heat.
But in their third meeting in 16 days, the Heat finally found a way to limit the Raptors’ transition opportunities. Toronto scored only 10 fast-break points on Tuesday.
The Raptors entered averaging 15.3 fast-break points per game this season, which is the third-most in the NBA.
Butler returned and nearly produced another triple-double
Butler, who missed Monday’s loss to the Celtics with right big toe irritation, finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists on Tuesday.
Starting forward P.J. Tucker also returned for the Heat after missing Monday’s loss because of left knee irritation. Tucker finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Kyle Lowry’s return to Toronto will have to wait, as the Heat’s starting point guard was again out because of undisclosed personal reasons.
Lowry missed his ninth straight game on Tuesday and he missed an opportunity to play his first game in Toronto since leaving the Raptors to join the Heat this past offseason. The Heat faces the Raptors again in Toronto late this season on April 3.
There’s no definitive timetable for Lowry’s return. But a return during the Heat’s current six-game trip that ends next week has not been ruled out.
“We understand all the things that we’re missing,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday when asked what the Heat is missing on the court without Lowry. “But this is bigger than that. We stay connected. I communicate with him every day and everybody else, as well. He’s a part of our family now and we just want to be there for him. The basketball stuff, we can work that all out.”
The Heat was also without Markieff Morris (return to competition reconditioning), KZ Okpala (right wrist sprain), Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery) and Omer Yurtseven (health and safety protocols) against the Raptors.
The Heat’s struggles on the second night of back-to-backs continue.
The Heat fell to 2-7 this season on the second night of back-to-backs.
The Raptors were also playing on the second night of a very challenging back-to-back. The Raptors landed in Toronto early Tuesday morning after a two-hour flight from Atlanta after earning a road win over the Hawks on Monday night.
While the Heat hasn’t been good on the second night of back-to-back this season, it has been very good when it has a few days off. Miami is 10-0 this season when playing a game coming off of two or more days of rest.
