Heat battle back from 17 down, come up short 107-103 against Raptors
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The pre-playoffs have opened for the Miami Heat at the NBA’s Disney World bubble.
Monday it was a 107-103 loss to the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors at the Wide World of Sports complex, firmly entrenching the Raptors in the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Tuesday for Erik Spoelstra’s team, it’s a matchup against the Boston Celtics, who can all but lock up the No. 3 East seed with a victory.
And then Thursday, it’s a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, who have spent the season as the No. 1 team in the East.
If nothing else, the Heat showed Monday they were up for challenges, battling back from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to a fourth-quarter lead.
“This team has perseverance a grit to them,” Spoelstra said.
Ultimately, it was decided late, with a Jae Crowder 3-pointer with 1:15 left drawing the Heat within 102-99. From there, the Heat had a chance to tie it when Goran Dragic was fouled while drawing the Heat within 102-101 with 41.4 seconds to play on a driving layup. But with the Heat 15 of 15 from the line to that stage, Dragic missed the free throw.
Following an inside miss by the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry, the Heat called time with 22.7 seconds to play, only to lose the ball out of bounds on a turnover with 17.1 seconds left.
Forced to foul, the Heat sent Raptors center Marc Gasol to the line with 14.9 seconds to play, with Gasol only making the second, leaving the Heat down 103-101.
Another Heat turnover followed, this time with Jimmy Butler attempting for force a pass to Dragic, effectively ending it.
Dragic led the Heat with 25 points, with Kelly Olynyk scoring 17, Jimmy Butler 16, Crowder 16 and Tyler Herro 12. Center Bam Adebayo closed with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with a career-high 36 points, including seven 3-poiniters, supported by 22 from Pascal Siakam.
Five degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:
———
1. Another change?: Spoelstra, having replaced Meyers Leonard in the starting lineup with Crowder at Saturday’s start of the seeding games, Monday seemingly created the possibility of another change.
With Kendrick Nunn off to an 0-for-7 start from the field, including 0 for 5 on 3-pointers, Dragic was rushed into the game less than three minutes into the second half.
Dragic has played off the bench in all but one appearance this season. Nunn has started all 64 of his appearances.
The question next becomes whether Nunn’s growth curve will be enough when the playoffs start Aug. 17, with the Heat having already clinched a berth.
Nunn closed at that 0 for 7, for two points.
———
2. Little big man: Even in an NBA offseason likely to be short on cash, VanVleet will get paid in free agency.
The Raptors points guard was up to 31 points through three periods, including 11 of 11 from the line, closing 13 of 13.
It was another example of the Heat struggling to contain an attacking point guard, something the Heat lack on the roster whether Nunn or Dragic open at the position.
———
3. Defending Duncan: The Heat stood 5 of 23 on 3-pointers at halftime, compared to 9 of 21 for the Raptors. From that perspective, the Heat were fortunate to stand within 48-44 at halftime.
The Raptors clearly made Duncan Robinson a priority, after he added three more 3-pointers in Saturday’s 125-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the start of the seeding games.
This time, Robinson had only a single 3-point attempt in the first half, a miss, with his second attempt not coming until 5:20 remained in the third quarter. His first conversion came 7:04 into the second half, closing 1 of 5 from the field for three points.
“Duncan he works at it,” Spoelstra said, “and he tends to figure it out. So the game plans are in bold with him.”
———
4. Olynyk again: After scoring all 20 of his points Saturday against the Nuggets in the fourth quarter, Olynyk this time scored all 11 of his first-half points in Monday’s second period.
Olynyk had 10 shots by the intermission, twice as many as any teammate.
For a player who appeared vulnerable to losing his rotation spot, the outside-shooting big man has proven essential.
“His last five, six weeks with us were his best basketball of the season, before the hiatus,” Spoelstra said of the NBA’s March 11 shutdown. “And then he just continued to keep his conditioning up and was relentless in May and June. His confidence level is extremely high.”
———
5. Uniform approach: With four days of play at Disney having been completed in advance of Monday’s game, the NBA added players’ names below numbers on jerseys, with social-justice messages remaining above.
Butler continued to opt out of a social message, playing with none above his number and his last name below.
Before Monday’s game, player names only were featured for players who opted out of the league’s pre-approved selection of messages.
———
©2020 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
