It was a high stakes game for both franchises, despite differing positions in the Eastern Conference standings: Miami wanted to win to steal 5th place from Brooklyn and catch up on New York, when Torontoby winning, could come back up to Atlanta and switch to the “good” side of the “play-in”.
Result ? A home win for Raptors… but a status quo in the standings. Logic on the side of Heatwhich bows for the second time in a row without the manner and therefore loses ground on the Nets and especially the Knicks, independent of their will on the side of the Raptors since at the same time, the Hawks beat the Cavaliers and therefore retain 8th place in the Eastern Conference, so far.
This does not prevent the Toronto club from having reason to be happy with their match, clearly mastered from start to finish against a Florida squad deprived of Jimmy Butler, and particularly poor in attack as a result (40% on shots, 15 bullet losses), against a very concentrated defense. Nick Nurse’s men also did the job brilliantly in attack: 48% on shots, 32 assists for “only” 9 ball losses, three players with 20 points or more, and even a +/- positive for all players came into play.
In short, it was a total victory for the Raptors, who for the first time since December 9 find a balance sheet with this third consecutive victory. The Canadian troops have won six of their last eight games more broadly and clearly seem to be gaining momentum in the last days of the season.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A victory acquired near the circle for the Raptors. With a differential in their favor of +26 in terms of points scored in the key (62 against 36), the Raptors effectively easily dominated the Heat in this exercise, taking advantage of their size advantage in almost all positions to s offer this sixty points with a high percentage of success. Like Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, the team’s two best scorers, who scored 10 shots each in the paint! More broadly, the Canadian formation has also made life easier in this area of the field by capturing 15 offensive rebounds, converted into 11 points on second chances. It must also be said that the Raptors had no real choice but to score near the circle, since their outside address was clearly not there: 8/36, a very small 22%!
– You are missing someone… We are talking here about Jimmy Butler, absent from the meeting because of neck pain. Decisive in an important game in the playoff race against New York last week, the Heat winger was sorely missed on both sides of the field by his team, facing a Raptors squad sharp near the circle and focused on defense. The most glaring was on the side of the attack, since Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo compiled 54 of the Heat’s 92 points! The Miami club must hope that its boss is back tomorrow against New York, a new crucial match in the quest for 6th place for the Floridians, who have therefore just suffered a second setback in a row and are losing ground on Brooklyn .
– Scottie Barnes’ score. In a match successful and accomplished by the entire Toronto collective, it was the performance of No. 4 that was certainly the most satisfying on an individual level. Present for 41 minutes on the boards of the Scotiabank Arena, the young prodigy of the Raptors indeed delivered a match not far from perfect, fueled by an intensity on both sides of the field at the highest from start to finish. The former Florida State has compiled 22 points (10/16 on shots), 7 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals without losing a single ball! For a +/- of +14 which attested to a completely “all-around” and positive match in all respects.
TOPS & FLOPS
✅ Pascal Siakam. After Scottie Barnes, he is the biggest satisfaction of the Toronto side match on the individual prism with his 26 points (10/20 but 0/5 behind the arc), 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Once again at ease in his team’s attack, after a short period of adaptation broken by the arrival in the paint of Jakob Poeltl, “Spicy P” finished the regular season strong, right when the Raptors chained to the good time to cement their place in the “play-in”. Auspicious.
✅ OG Anunoby. The best +/- of the match with +17 for the very sturdy British winger from Toronto, who signs a good full game level with 22 points at 9/14 on shots, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and a defense as often irreproachable off .
✅ Tyler Herro. The only ray of sunshine in a somewhat depressing evening for the Heat. Without Jimmy Butler, Miami’s “Boy Wonder” logically inherited the vast majority of offensive responsibilities, and he enjoyed himself while being effective with 33 points on 62% on shots, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. He couldn’t do much more, because he was just too alone.
⛔️ The Heat on offense. Difficult in the NBA to win a game when: 1. the team scores only 92 points, and 2. what’s more when two players compile 54 of these 92 points. With the exception of Bam Adebayo and especially Tyler Herro, the two players in question, the Heat’s offense was indeed a profound ordeal for the eyes, without Jimmy Butler.
THE FOLLOWING
– Raptors (38-38): trip to Philadelphia, on the night of Friday to Saturday (01:00).
– Heat (40-36): crucial back-to-back at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks (1:30 a.m.).
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