NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from the Toronto Raptors' win over the Miami Heat
The Raptors posted a huge second-half comeback to snap Miami Heat's five-game winning streak, and clinch an impressive 106-104 road victory.
Coming into this one, Toronto had just undergone a beating at the hands of Philadelphia, on the second night of a back-to-back. On the other hand, the Heat had just beaten the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Rockets, Heat and Magic(in chronological order) in one of their best runs this season.
The Raptors' latest impressive comeback victory has catapulted their win-loss record to an unmatched 26-10(0.722) on the season. They are now 13-6 in away games, possessing the best record when playing on foreign soil. The win might put a hold to the rough patch they were going through as of late, having just won five of their last ten games.
On the other hand, the Miami Heat's neoteric gush of wins have been jolted by this last-minute heartbreaker. They are tied for 7th place with the Hornets on the Eastern Conference standings, hosting a 16-17 record. D-Wade and company have now lost just three of their last ten games.
Let's draw out some key takeaways from this nail-biting show of resiliency by the league leaders in Toronto.
#1 The Raptors' second-half surge proved to be lethal for Miami
Toronto were down by 14 points at the half, and as the third period progressed, Miami increased the separation to 17 at one point. The Raptors switched to zone defense, VanVleet and Kawhi combined for 21 points and what we saw was a 37-21 rout of the Heat in the third quarter.
The visitors held a dicy 81-79 lead into the fourth and last quarter. With less than 30 seconds left on the clock, Ibaka found a wide-open Danny Green for a corner three to make it 106-104. And that was pretty much it!
Both the teams scored 25 points in the final period, resulting in Miami losing by a sliver of a margin to the headstrong Raptors.
Coach Spoelstra was impressed by his team's effort, but the frustration of losing out in the final moments was visible,
"There's some really good things going on," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And it was a great basketball game ... through 47 minutes."