Another recreation, one other shut one for the Toronto Raptors. They’re noticing a development.
Fred VanVleet scored 24 factors, Pascal Siakam added 23 and the Raptors rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 98-90 on Monday evening and cut up their two-game journey to South Florida.
“I believe till we easy the ship out a bit of bit, we’re going to be in a number of shut video games,” VanVleet mentioned. “Coming down the stretch, you’ve got acquired to give you the option to execute.”
Total rating: Toronto 420, Opponents 416.
“The East will not be for the faint-hearted,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse mentioned.
WATCH | Raptors lean on stars to overcome Heat:
Pascal Siakam posted 23 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, whereas Fred VanVleet put up 24 factors and 9 assists in Toronto’s 98-90 win in Miami.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 18 factors, together with a 3-pointer that put Toronto up by six with 22.6 seconds left. Precious Achiuwa grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds for the Raptors, probably the most ever by a Toronto reserve.
Jimmy Butler scored 26 factors for Miami, which acquired 22 factors and 15 rebounds from Tyler Herro. Bam Adebayo had 14 factors and Duncan Robinson added 12 for the Heat.
“They made pictures,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra mentioned. “They made some huge pictures down the stretch, even those that we had been defending fairly effectively.”
The Raptors had been with out reigning NBA rookie of the 12 months Scottie Barnes, who sat out with a sprained proper ankle and might be listed as day-to-day. Miami was with out Caleb Martin and Nikola Jovic, each suspended one recreation by the league for his or her roles in a scuffle throughout Saturday evening’s recreation. Martin, the league mentioned, instigated the occasion with Toronto’s Christian Koloko, and Jovic was suspended for leaving the Heat bench space.
Siakam began alongside Koloko for Toronto, the primary time in NBA historical past that two gamers born in Cameroon began for a similar workforce in the identical recreation.