Miami Heat puts away the Toronto Raptors, 96-76

One area fixed, another comes up broken. With the loss, Miami falls to 3-3 overall and 1-2 on the road. “Their aggression in the third quarter changed the game”. But against the Heat the script got flipped as they suffered their second loss in a row – 96-76.

Miami outscored Toronto 30-16 in the third quarter, and after Toronto closed within seven in the fourth the Heat got an 18-3 Heat run fueled mainly by reserves to put the game away. The Raptors took a 24-22 lead out of the first quarter, a stretch that’s haunted them often this season and in Friday’s loss to Orlando in particular.

“He’s been really struggling with his jump shot”, Casey said. Valanciunas had 17 points and five rebounds, but he was held to just one point in the second half.

For all the preseason talk of the Heat’s starting lineup, it well may be the depth that ultimately could make the difference, and certainly did at the start of this seven-game homestand.

“We have to execute offensively”, head coach Dwane Casey said. (Hassan) Whiteside had a big game with 20 points, which is out of the norm for him. “We are somewhere in the middle”.

In fact, Winslow, a rookie first-round pick, led the Heat with 32 minutes played, finishing with nine points and five rebounds.

“To be able to get those electrifying plays and get the crowd into it and swing the momentum I think is awesome”, said forward Chris Bosh, who was alongside on the court for all three of those plays. Sharing the ball, getting stops, running.

Despite a strong game from Jonas Valanciunas (in the first half, anyway), the rest of the Raptors gradually wilted under the pressure of Miami’s D and increased pace.

Bosh said his team’s effort was lacking in the first half. Casey had a chance to get his Toronto record over the. “You have to be able to have guys on your roster who can compete at those positions”. Carroll was out with a foot issue and was replaced by James Johnson as the starter instead of Terrence Ross who didn’t shine.

Johnson closed with 10 points, Winslow nine and McRoberts five. Raptors C Lucas Nogueira, a 23-year-old native of Brazil, made his season debut, scoring three points in three minutes off the bench.

The game also marked the continuation of a trend we’re pretty sure all Raptors fans would like to see end.

The Raptors have not beaten Chris Bosh since he left Toronto.

“We haven’t?”, DeRozan asked.

“Those injuries, I’ve had so many players over the years that have had those”.

The Raptors offence seems stuck in mud a lot of nights, Sunday in Miami being just the most recent. Green was briefly hospitalized last week and has not been with the team since….

A couple key stats here: DeRozan and Lowry combined for 31 points, but only made 9-of-30 field goals throughout the game.