Raptors at Heat
The Toronto Raptors are closing in on home-court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs as they visit the desperate Miami Heat on Saturday night. The Raptors rallied past Orlando 101-99 on Friday to tie Chicago for third place in the East – two games ahead of fifth-place Washington – and Miami likely needs a 3-0 finish to have a chance at the postseason after losing five of its last six.
Louis Williams’ 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left was the deciding basket Friday for Toronto, who also got All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry back in the lineup. Lowry had missed nine the previous 10 games with back spasms and totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the victory. The Heat let a 19-point halftime lead get away in an 89-78 loss to Chicago on Thursday and trail Brooklyn and Boston — tied for seventh in the East — by two games with three to play. Miami All-Star guard Dwyane Wade told the Sun Sentinel, “We’re going to fight until they tell us, ‘Listen, you can’t play no more.’ ”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, SNET-360 (Toronto), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (47-32): Lowry made a strong contribution, and his backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan remained hot with 29 points against Orlando – the fourth time in the last six games he has recorded at least 27. Williams has made at least three 3-pointers in seven straight games off the bench, and the Raptors have won five of those contests. Forward Tyler Hansbrough has stepped into the starting lineup with Amir Johnson (ankle) out the last three games and is averaging 15.3 points in that span.
ABOUT THE HEAT (35-44): Wade needs to snap out of a mini-slump if Miami is to grab wins over Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia to end the campaign after making only 10-of-37 from the field the last two games. Goran Dragic is finishing strong while scoring almost 20 points per game in the past four contests and is averaging 16.5 in 24 games since being acquired from Phoenix. Third-leading active scorer Luol Deng (14.0), bothered by a sore knee, was held to eight points on 3-of-13 shooting against Chicago.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami G Mario Chalmers has 1,980 career assists and needs one to break the tie for third with LeBron James on the franchise’s all-time list.
2. Toronto C Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 11 rebounds over the last four games and shooting 58.5 percent from the field in his past seven outings.
3. The Heat are 28-8 all time in regular-season home games against the Raptors and have won 16 of the last 17 contests overall.