Toronto Raptors 107-103 Miami Heat: Twitter erupts as Fred VanVleet goes off for 36 points | NBA 2019-20
The Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 107-103 in what was a cracker of a basketball game. Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors scored a career-high 36 points in a well-deserved win for Nick Nurse's men. The Miami Heat battled hard all game and had the chance to tie the match by the end of the fourth quarter but multiple turnovers in that period turned out to be costly for them. Goran Dragic scored 25 points for the Miami Heat off the bench but couldn't lead his team past a gritty Toronto Raptors defence.
The Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat put on a defensive clinic
Both the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat exhibited impressive defensive schemes in a low scoring tie. The teams made it extremely hard for each other to get to the rim and the players had rely on long range shots to score. Pascal Siakam helped Fred VanVleet take care of the scoring by adding 22 points. The Toronto Raptors started the first quarter extremely well but Miami Heat made a comeback as the clock progressed.
Miami Heat sharp shooter Duncan Robinson didn't have a comfortable outing against the resilient Toronto Raptors defence. He only scored 3 points and the Miami Heat had to rely on Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic for the scoring and playmaking. Kelly Olynyk and Jae Crowder chipped in with useful contributions. Both teams committed a high number of turnovers as the ball handlers were not allowed any space to operate in.
The Miami Heat play their next game against eastern conference rivals Boston Celtics who recently defeated the Portland Trail Blazers. Both teams will be looking to win this game especially Miami Heat who will try to bounce back from the defeat against the Toronto Raptors. Head coach Erik Spoelstra will be expecting a positive reaction from his players.
On the other hand, the Toronto Raptors will be playing Orlando Magic in their next game in the NBA bubble. It should be a comparatively easy outing for the Raptors as the Orlando Magic will be missing their promising forward Jonathan Isaac due to injury. However, the Orlando Magic were victorious in their last fixture in which they defeated western conference playoff hopefuls Sacramento Kings. Coach Nick Nurse would be looking for another victory to ensure that the Toronto Raptors maintain their 2nd position in the eastern conference standings.
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