Raptors at Heat
The Miami Heat have climbed back into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference and look to extend their season-high winning streak to six when they host the NBA-best Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The Heat shot 50.6 percent from the field, including 16-of-31 from 3-point range, and forced 19 turnovers in Sunday’s 115-91 rout of Orlando - a team that had beat them twice this season - to give coach Erik Spoelstra his 500th career win.
“I just like where we are as a team,” Miami guard Justise Winslow told reporters after scoring 22 points Sunday. “We’re more together than ever. We got back to .500 (16-16) so we’ve just got to keep pushing from here.” Guard Josh Richardson leads the Heat in scoring (18.5) after recording his first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds) on Sunday and will try to keep it going against the Raptors, who are just 5-6 after winning 20 of their first 24 games this season. Toronto was without three of its top five scorers Saturday when it suffered a 126-101 setback at Philadelphia to open a three-game road trip that ends in Orlando on Friday. Raptors leading scorer Kawhi Leonard is averaging 30.5 points over his last four games, but was rested Saturday while forward Serge Ibaka (knee, questionable) missed his third straight game and center Jonas Valanciunas (thumb) will be lost for a few more weeks.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific (Toronto), FS Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (25-10): Leonard, who is averaging 26.8 points overall, has been limited to one game in back-to-back situations this season to limit his workload but coach Nick Nurse told reporters the restriction will likely change soon. Power forward Pascal Siakam matched his season high with 26 points against Philadelphia and is third on the team in scoring (14.8). Point guard Kyle Lowry (14.4 points, team-high 9.8 assists) returned to the lineup Saturday after missing four contests with a thigh injury, recording 20 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
ABOUT THE HEAT (16-16): Miami is seventh in the league in scoring defense (106.3) entering Tuesday after allowing just 94 points per game during its winning streak. “The zone is making us communicate better, so it’s now making us communicate better when we’re in man-to-man, as well,” veteran guard Dwyane Wade told the Sun Sentinel. “And we know where we’ve got to win. Defense is where we’re going to win. If you give up 120 points, it’s going to be hard for us to win those games.” Guard Rodney McGruder (10.8 points) is day-to-day after missing Sunday’s game due to illness.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Toronto G Fred VanVleet has scored in double figures five straight games, averaging 13.6 during that stretch.
2. Miami C Hassan Whiteside is third in the league in blocks per game (2.63) and shares third in rebounding (13.2).
3. The Heat lost 125-115 at Toronto on Nov. 25, but have won 13 of the last 16 games against the Raptors in Miami.