Even though the Heat were getting wide open looks from downtown in the first half (27 attempted 3s), the Raptors were still up three points going into halftime. A sloppy first quarter for both teams, but no lead in the first half ever exceeded by seven points, and the Raptors made just as many 3s as the Heat at seven apiece.
“That’s a very aggressive team, so everybody knows they’re going to attack,” complimented Erik Spoelstra after the game.
The Raptors showed a spirited effort against the 2023 NBA Finalists who still have many of their key pieces – Tyler Herro (though he didn’t play in that series), Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love, and Haywood Highsmith.
For what became a meaningless NBA Cup game, it was important for a “developmental” Raptors team to fight against a team desperate to get back its infamous culture.
One telling sign was the Raptors’ core three of Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, and Barrett was elite, even in contrast to Heat’s Butler, Herro, and Adebayo. Barnes, Poeltl, and Barrett combined for 73 points, 66% of the team’s total points. Butler, Herro, and Adebayo combined for 63 points.
The Raptors started the second half with their core three intact until the 5:23 mark. A 12-0 Heat run gave them a seven-point lead, but after a Darko Rajakovic’s timeout, the Raptors went on a 10-5 run, trailing by only two points.
The surrounding pieces contributed throughout the game, even during this third quarter run. Ochai Agbaji hit a key triple from the wing, after Barnes passed out of the double team in the post. Agbaji’s triple was a much-needed answer to the Heat’s first double-digit lead of the game. After Boucher subbed in for Barnes, Mitchell took it right at Duncan Robinson and tied the game at 77 apiece.
However, the Heat’s surrounding cast was even better. Jaime Jaquez Jr. nailed a corner triple over Boucher, Jamison Battle got a great three-point look on the other end but missed, and Jaquez hit a back-to-back triple – this time from the wing and made Boucher pay for a late closeout.
Then, it was perhaps miscommunication, or lack of communication, on transition D. Boucher was occupied covering Jaquez on the perimeter, Barrett seemed to be in no man’s land, and Terry Rozier slipped out to the wing and nailed an uncontested triple, which put them back up at 10 … yet again.
A Kevin Love triple, another missed 3-pointer by Battle (but a good look), which was then countered with Love’s signature long-distance outlet pass for a Jaquez lay-up put the Heat up by 15. After shooting 7-for-12 behind the arc (58%) in the third quarter, they lived and maintained that buffer until the end of the game. They also shot 7-for-15 (47%) from downtown in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, Barrett willed himself to the rim, hit two 3s, and created for others. Barnes was a phenomenal passer and finished the game with a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Poeltl had another consistent individual performance, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He played solid perimeter D, kept up with smaller guards (e.g. Tyler Herro), and the team really to go to him or through him, especially at the start of the game.
The three rookies got some valuable playing time – though Shead had a quiet night, Mogbo and Walter, respectively, got about 15 minutes and 26 minutes of playing time.
Even though the Heat rained 3s on the Raptors in the second half, the sky is far from falling.
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