Heat holds on for victory over Raptors. Takeaways from the Heat’s first win of the season
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 112-109 win over the Toronto Raptors (1-2) on Saturday night at FTX Arena. The Heat hosts the Raptors again on Monday to close its season-opening four-game homestand:
Even after a shaky second half, the Heat (1-2) turned in its best offensive performance of the young season to pick up its first win after an 0-2 start.
Miami’s offense was so efficient at the start that it still finished with impressive numbers despite a rough finish. The Heat ended the night with 112 points on 49.4 percent shooting from the field, 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) shooting from three-point range and 25-of-27 shooting from the foul line.
The tone was set in the first quarter, when the Heat scored 38 points on 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) shooting from the field, 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) shooting from three-point range and 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line. It’s the Heat’s highest scoring quarter of the season through the first three games.
The Heat didn’t cool off in the second quarter, following up a 38-point first quarter with a 33-point period to enter halftime in full control with a 71-50 lead. Miami only scored more than 70 points in a half five times last season.
Miami’s offense didn’t have a perfect night, though. In the third quarter, the Heat scored just 21 points on 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) shooting from the field and 1-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc to allow the Raptors to win the period 33-21 and claw back into the game.
The Heat then scored just 20 points in the fourth quarter.
The Heat still finished with a season-best offensive rating of 117.9 points scored per 100 possessions on Saturday.
This is much better than the offensive rating it posted through its first two games of 106 points scored per 100 possessions, which entered Saturday ranked seventh-worst in the NBA.
Jimmy Butler finished the win with a team-high 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 shooting from the foul line, to go with four rebounds and five assists.
Tyler Herro added 17 points and six assists, and Bam Adebayo closed with 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Heat’s offense lacked its usual ball movement and three-point volume during its 0-2 start. Miami entered Saturday with an assist percentage of 55.7 percent (ranked ninth lowest in the NBA) and averaging 27 three-point shots per 100 possessions (fifth-fewest in the NBA).
But the Heat went back to the offensive formula of ball movement and threes that has worked so well in recent seasons, finishing Saturday’s win with an assist percentage of 73.7 percent and a season-high in three-point attempts (30).
Despite all that, Butler felt that the Heat “played kind of bad offensively.”
“We got stagnant at times, we weren’t moving the ball as well as we need to be moving the ball,” Butler said. “We just made some shots. That was it. I think we can be much better on the offensive end, for sure on the defensive end as well. But I don’t think this was like peak Miami Heat offense with all the weapons that we have.”
The Heat’s efficient offensive display doesn’t mean the win came easy.
The Heat led by 24 points with 8:02 left in the third quarter, but the Raptors responded with a 26-11 run to close the period. That cut Miami’s lead to just nine entering the fourth quarter.
The Raptors kept hanging around in the fourth quarter, too.
The Heat pulled ahead by eight points with 41 seconds to play, but the Raptors scored five quick unanswered points to trim the deficit to just three points with 13.7 seconds left.
Toronto then intentionally fouled Butler, who made one of two free throws to extend Miami’s lead to four and make it a two possession game with 10.2 seconds to play. The Raptors scored one more point on a free throw from Precious Achiuwa to again cut the deficit to three with 2.9 seconds left, but ran out of time.
“We won, that’s the bottom line,” Adebayo said. “There was a whole bunch of stuff going on out there today. Bottom line is the win is all that matters.”
Toronto actually won the second half, 59-41. But the Heat’s 21-point advantage in the first half was too much for the Raptors to overcome and complete the comeback.
“When the result ends like this, I love all the emotions and the experiences,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Just the game management, the emotional management, the mental stability management, fourth quarter execution going down the stretch. A lot of teaching points in that fourth quarter.”
The Raptors showed fight without one of their best players, as rising star Scottie Barnes exited Saturday’s contest in the second quarter because of a sprained right ankle.
Without Barnes for most of the way, Toronto was led by 23-point performances from both Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr.
The Heat’s win included a brawl that ended with the ejection of two players.
With 7:46 left in the third quarter, Heat forward Caleb Martin and Raptors forward Christian Koloko battled for a rebound before Koloko fell to the court and Martin was called for a loose ball foul.
But that was just the beginning, as Martin stood over Koloko. When Koloko stood up and got in Martin’s face, Martin slammed Koloko into the first row of seats behind the basket and next to the Heat’s bench.
Players and coaches from both teams sprinted over in an effort to break the fight up, and Martin and Koloko were ultimately separated.
The officials reviewed the incident and called technical fouls on Martin and Koloko. Both players were ejected.
“I just think that there’s a lot plays that were kind of leading up to it,” Martin said after the game when asked about the incident. “It was a chippy game. That’s typically how the game goes with Toronto. It’s a chippy back and forth. But ultimately I just think that emotions were high and the game was a close game. It was back and forth. Overall, I got to be more professional in the way I handle those type of situations.”
It marked the second ejection of Martin’s NBA career. He recorded eight points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, five rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes before leaving Saturday’s victory.
The question now becomes will Martin and/or Koloko be suspended or fined for their fight?
The Heat and Raptors face off again on Monday to close their set of back-to-back games against each other at FTX Arena.
Max Strus isn’t starting, but he’s still playing a big role for the Heat off the bench. Gabe Vincent also shined as a reserve.
Strus closed Saturday’s win with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting on threes, five rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes. It’s the second time in the first three games that he has scored at least 20 points in a reserve role.
Although Strus played as a starter during last season’s Heat playoff run that ended in the Eastern Conference finals, he’s familiar with coming off the bench. Strus has started in just 16 of the 112 regular-season games he has appeared in during his NBA career.
And even though Strus isn’t starting anymore, he has played plenty. He’s averaging the most minutes among Heat reserves through the first three games at 30.4 minutes per game.
“Max can play with any lineup,” Spoelstra said. “He has that kind of versatility. He can play as a spacer for your best players. He can also play with the second unit and be a little bit more of a trigger, which he was tonight.”
Vincent contributed nine points, seven rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes off the bench.
The Heat shortened its bench rotation on Saturday, using four reserves: Strus, Vincent, Dewayne Dedmon and Duncan Robinson. The Heat went with a 10-man rotation in the first two games that included Haywood Highsmith as the fifth reserve used.
But Highsmith did not play against the Raptors.
Miami remained without guard Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis) and center Omer Yurtseven (left ankle impingement) on Saturday. They were the only Heat players unavailable against the Raptors.
Heat point guard Kyle Lowry earned another win over his former team.
Lowry, who spent nine straight seasons in Toronto before joining the Heat in the 2021 offseason played against his former team for the second time since coming to Miami. He’s now 2-0 in those games.
On Saturday, Lowry finished with 17 points while shooting 5 of 11 from the field and 3 of 7 on threes, two rebounds and six assists.
Lowry is considered one of the greatest players in Raptors history and more than a few of his former teammates are still with the Raptors. He playfully jawed with those familiar faces throughout the game, including Raptors point guard and close friend Fred VanVleet.
“Not at all, honestly,” Lowry said following Saturday’s win when asked if games against the Raptors mean more than others. “I love those guys over there. I love the coaching staff, I love the players, I love the organization. It’s not extra. It’s just me trying to help our team win basketball games down here.”
Lowry only played in one game against the Raptors in his first season with the Heat because he missed the teams’ first three matchups last season due to personal reasons.
Saturday represented another encouraging performance from the 36-year-old Lowry. After scoring just two points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field in the Heat’s season-opening loss to the Chicago Bulls, Lowry has averaged 17 points and six assists in the two games since.
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 10:49 PM.
