Raptors hold off Heat, win sixth-straight

Rudi Schuller

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Raptors hold off Heat, win sixth-straight image

It took all 48 minutes, but the Toronto Raptors managed to get past a stubborn Miami Heat team in a 115-112 victory on Tuesday at Air Canada Centre.

Led by 27 points from DeMar DeRozan, Toronto boasted a 16-point advantage with 4:42 remaining and looked to be cruising to another double-digit victory. Instead, Miami went on a 13-0 run to make the Raptors sweat.

The Heat's comeback fell just short, allowing Toronto to claim victory and extended its winning streak to six games.

The Raptors (40-16) are one game up on the Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's game:

Lowry leads

The Raptors' point guard led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, and he also had the most assists (six) during that time frame.

Lowry was the difference between the two sides at the halftime break after he hit a buzzer beater from three-point range to give Toronto the two-point lead after 24 minutes.

The 31-year-old finished with 22 points, eight assists and four rebounds, with his presence felt throughout the contest.

Mr. Third Quarter

As has been the case so often this year, DeRozan came out of the gates slowly and picked up momentum after the halftime break.

DeRozan notched just seven points over the first two quarters, but he topped that total in the opening six minutes of the third quarter. The 28-year-old racked up 10 points before the halfway mark of the third, and brought the crowd to its feet with an emphatic dunk on a Lowry feed.

In all, DeRozan went off for 19 points in the third quarter, sparking Toronto to a 41-point output during that frame to allow the team to pull away for good.

Bench mobbin'

For the five games leading into Tuesday's contest, Raptors starters Lowry, DeRozan, Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas all did not see a single second of fourth-quarter action. The play of Toronto's second unit — the Bench Mob — allowed the starters to grab some well-earned rest at the ends of those games without fear of leads being blown.

The scenario nearly played itself out a sixth-straight time on Tuesday, but Raptors head coach Dwane Casey elected to insert Lowry and Valanciunas into the game midway through the final quarter, followed by DeRozan moments later, to end a rather unique streak.

That's not to say the bench players were unworthy of their time on the floor, however. As it's been all season long, Toronto's second unit continued to show why the Raptors are considered one of the deepest teams in the NBA.

Rudi Schuller