On Wednesday night, the Miami Heat had game number fifteen on the 2022-23 NBA season in Toronto against the Raptors. Both teams had initially begun the year looking for a hot start at the top of the eastern conference. However, both teams are sitting right around the .500 mark and have gotten off to slow starts.
Raptors’ Explosive Second Half and Tough Rebounding Helps Them Pull Away
Toronto outscored the Heat 58-44 in the second half after being down 54-60 at halftime. A huge third quarter in particular helped get the Raptors’ crowd back into the game and Toronto back in the lead.
Overall, Miami was no match for Toronto on the boards, getting out-rebounded 42-23. Miami was out-rebounded 16-4 in the offensive rebound department, too, a staggering differential. It was evident that the absence of Bam Adebayo made a massive difference.
Both O.G. Anunoby and Chris Boucher off the bench had a team-high 10 rebounds for Toronto. The two of them were the catalysts for the Raptors victory, as Anunoby had 32 points on 13-18 (72%) shooting. Boucher had a dagger three with around a minute and a half to go to put the Raptors up 110-102. He finished the game with 15 points on 4-7 (57%) shooting from off the bench.
Fred VanVleet also played well, finishing with 23 points and a team-high eight assists.
Toronto head coach Nick Nurse on VanVleet’s impact on the game: “I mean Fred [VanVleet] obviously is helping organize a lot out there. That certainly is a big part of what is going on in a game like this… I thought Fred had a really good game.”
Another notable performance came from second-year man (and former Florida State Seminole) Scottie Barnes. The 6-foot-7-inch small forward finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, being active in all facets.
Turnovers, Allowing Points in the Paint Kill the Heat’s Chances of Victory
The Miami Heat had 23 turnovers and the Raptors cashed in 25 points off of those turnovers. The Heat are towards the middle of the league when it comes to turnovers a game (14.3), so Miami is surely looking to improve. However, Wednesday night’s performance was almost uncharacteristic for a team that looks to compete for a championship.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the turnover differential: “You have to give them credit. They did force turnovers for sure and at key moments… they pushed it to a double-digit lead from turnovers…”
The Heat also gave up over half of the Toronto points from inside the paint – 58 of them to be exact. The lack of a defensive presence down low, especially on the road, allowed the Raptors’ big men, like Anunoby and Boucher, to score in bunches.
The Heat are now 1-4 on the road this season.
A bright spot was Max Strus, who finished with a team-high 20 points on 6-11 (54%) shooting.
Kyle Lowry finished with 19 points in his return to Toronto and All-Star Jimmy Butler finished with only 13 points. However, nine of the Heat turnovers came from the two veterans.
Gabe Vincent came off of the bench and played fantastic with 16 points and five assists; he has been a good surprise for Heat fans this season.
Caleb Martin had possibly his best game of the season with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Rookie Nikola Jovic had a great game as well, recording a career-high 13 points on 4-8 (50%) shooting. 11 of those points came in the first quarter.
Up Next
The Miami Heat now fall below .500 at 7-8 on the season following the loss up north. Miami’s next game will be Friday night in Washington D.C. against the Wizards. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. E.T. from Capital One Arena.