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Posted on Saturday, 11.21.09

RAPTORS 120, HEAT 113

Miami Heat's furious rally runs out of gas

The Heat overcame a 23-point deficit to tie the score in the fourth quarter, but petered out at the end.

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BY MICHAEL WALLACE

mwallace@MiamiHerald.com

TORONTO -- Perhaps the Heat couldn't get its defense through customs at the Canadian border for the start of Friday night's game.

Good thing Miami brought its offense. The Heat needed every aspect of it to overcome a miserable first half and a 23-point deficit.

After failing to stop anything Toronto did in the first 24 minutes, the Heat exhausted its energy in a furious rally to draw even. Miami didn't have much left to mount a finish. Instead, the Raptors regained their shooting to hold off the Heat 120-113 at Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors squandered what seemed a comfortable lead, but regrouped with a 14-3 run in the final minutes to avoid the collapse.

Chris Bosh scored 29 points and Andrea Bargnani's three-pointer ignited the final spurt that dealt the Heat its third straight loss and fourth in five games.

``One thing you learn in this league is you don't get too high or too low,'' Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. ``It's a growing process for this team. We have to continue to get better and get back to being one of the best defensive teams in the league. But we have to stay together as a team.''

A Heat team that had little punch at the outset showed plenty of fight at the finish. Wade emerged from a scoring slump to finish with 30 points, Mario Chalmers had a career-high 30 points and Michael Beasley added 21 points and 12 rebounds.

But the chemistry from a supporting cast that included 17 points from Jermaine O'Neal arrived too late. The Heat's second-half Hyde couldn't fix the damage done by its first-half Jekyll.

The Heat outscored Toronto 34-20 in the third quarter to get back into the game. O'Neal cut the lead to 102-101 with a pair of free throws with 3:27 left, but the Raptors gradually pulled away.

``When you fall behind like that, it's too hard to come back, so we can't let a team get out on us like that,'' said Chalmers, who had 24 points in the second half and 16 in the fourth. ``We have to come out with more intensity and go for the jugular. We can't wait around until it's too late.''

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called for accountability after his team gave up its most points of the season. The Heat has surrendered 100 or more points in three consecutive games and five times this season. It is 0-5 when allowing 100 or more points.

``One way or another, we're going to get back to our identity,'' Spoelstra said. ``Moving forward, all it is now is about proving it. Proving that to your teammates that you're willing to compete, lay it all out there, get into the fray, prove that you're reliable and dependable.''

Toronto (6-7) shot 57.7 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range.

After holding six of its first seven opponents to fewer than 100 points, Miami has given up at least that much in four of its last five games. Part of the problem is that the Heat has been missing two of its better defenders the past two games. Udonis Haslem sat out with a strained left shoulder and starting small forward Quentin Richardson was out with a lower back strain.

"The defensive performances we've had the last three games is not what we're about,'' Spoelstra said. "Guys have to step up. We've worked too hard, fought too hard for this identity to surrender it this quickly.''

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