Late Heat rally falls short in Toronto

TORONTO – Winning once in Toronto this season was a neat feat for the Heat. Winning twice there, against a team that’s No. 1 in the East and 24-4 at home, was apparently too much to expect.

Overwhelmed by a late third-quarter Raptors blitz, the Heat staged a furious late rally but ultimately fell for the sixth time in seven games, losing 115-112 at Air Canada Centre.

With the game tied at 77, the Raptors unleashed a 21-4 run in the final 4:16 of the third to go to the fourth ahead, 98-81.

Down by double digits most of the fourth, Miami drew to within three with 56 seconds left after a three-pointer and a jumper from Goran Dragic, then to within two on a Wayne Ellington three with six seconds to go. C.J. Miles missed the second of two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, but Josh Richardson missed a long three-pointer at the buzzer.

Dragic scored 16 points in the third quarter to keep the Heat afloat on a 28-point night. Dwyane Wade had 10 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes in his second game back with the Heat. James Johnson had 16 points, Wayne Ellington 15 and Bam Adebayo 11.

But the Heat allowed too many open shots, and DeMar DeRozan (27 points) and Kyle Lowry (22) victimized Miami.

That Raptors’ third-quarter stampede happened with four Heat reserves on the floor – Ellington, Adebayo, Johnson and Wade, along with Justise Winslow for part of the time, and Josh Richardson for a portion of that run

Miami, which won 89-88 in Toronto a month ago, fell one-half game behind Philadelphia for eighth in the conference, with those teams meeting Wednesday in their final game before the All-Star break. Miami is 2.5 games ahead of No. 9 Detroit.

This story was originally published February 13, 2018 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Late Heat rally falls short in Toronto."