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Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors
We've finally arrived to game #82 of the NBA regular season with major seeding implications in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat sitting in 8th would need a victory over the Toronto Raptors and then would need an Orlando Magic loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and a 76ers loss or a Pacers loss. If all three were to happen then Miami would take home the 5th seed. If the scenario above is the outcome then the Heat would take the 6th seed.
Thomas Bryant was the lead man on Sunday for the Miami Heat scoring 18 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. The rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr would follow that with 18 points as well. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo would both equal each other and score 17 points. Jimmy Butler with another low scoring game with just 15 points. Delon Wright got some playing time finishing the afternoon with 11 points and five steals.
Gary Trent Jr once again was leading the way in scoring for the Toronto Raptors with 18 points as the Raptors have had an off year and will be missing the postseason. Jordan Nwora and Gradey Dick would both finish in the boxscore with 14 points. Former Miami Heat member Kelly Olynyk would finish with 11 points followed by Ochai Agbaji who scored 10 points.
It was a much closer contest on Sunday afternoon for Miami and Toronto compared to Friday night where the Heat demolished the Raptors. The Raptors would finish the season with the 5th worst record in franchise history at 25-57. The momentum shifted in the second quarter where the Heat would outscore the Raptors 43-22. Miami's 21-point lead was the second largest lead this season behind the 24-point margin they had over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Heat would defeat the Raptors 118-103 but would not get any help from around the East sending them to the play-in tournament on Wednesday. A win on Wednesday would send them to face the New York Knicks on Saturday while a loss would send them to a second play-in game on Friday. If they win that second play-in game they would head to Boston on Sunday to face the Celtics. If they lose that second play-in game then the season is over.
Next up for the Miami Heat is a road game visiting the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday for the play-in game.
Written by: Daniel Torres
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