The Miami Heat got their passports and headed due north to play the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. After struggling for most of the first half, Miami opened up a lead and held off the Raptors for a 104-95 victory.
LeBron James was superb, and he carried the Heat throughout the game. He finished with 35 points, while Dwyane Wade added 20 of his own. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 21 points, but Rudy Gay shot just 3-of-10 and finished with 13 points to go with 10 boards.
The Heat were behind almost the entire first half, trailing 9-2 after a slow start and 45-34 following a second-quarter lull. Then Mario Chalmers displayed a superb sense of timing, drilling a three-pointer to beat the buzzer and put the Heat up 52-50, their only lead of the half.
The Raptors have become one of the league's best rebounding teams, and Miami had no answer for them early with Chris Bosh out on paternity leave. Jonas Valanciunas had four of Toronto's 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and tallied 13 points by the break. But Valanciunas sat for a large portion of the second half and played only 27 minutes, which helped Miami ...
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Article written by Sean Hojnacki
Miami Heat vs. Toronto Raptors: Grading Miami’s Performance
November 5th, 2013 by Sean Hojnacki Leave a reply »
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