Advertisement

Heat goes small to hold off Raptors

 
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, left, talks with San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan, right, following Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 12, 2016. Oklahoma City won 113-99 and moves on to the Western Conference Finals. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams) OKSO122
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, left, talks with San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan, right, following Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 12, 2016. Oklahoma City won 113-99 and moves on to the Western Conference Finals. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams) OKSO122
Published May 14, 2016

MIAMI — The Heat went small and came up big.

With that, another Game 7 awaits.

Goran Dragic scored a postseason career-high 30, Dwyane Wade added 22 and the Heat rode their small lineup to a 103-91 victory over the Raptors on Friday, tying their Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-3.

Joe Johnson had 13 points, Justise Winslow added 12, and Josh McRoberts scored 10 for the Heat.

Kyle Lowry scored 36 for Toronto, on 12-for-27 shooting. DeMar DeRozan added 23, but their teammates managed 32 points.

Game 7 is Sunday in Toronto. Both the Heat and the Raptors won a Game 7 in the first round.

Neither team divulged its starting lineup until warmups were under way. The Heat had reason for subterfuge, after choosing a small starting five of Dragic, Wade, Johnson, Luol Deng and Winslow.

Without injured center Hassan Whiteside, the Heat used eight players — the tallest being McRoberts, at 6-foot-10. The average height of the others was just under 6-6.

"That's just what the series dictated right now," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Heat 103, Raptors 91

TORONTO (91): Carroll 2-4 0-2 5, Patterson 4-7 0-0 8, Biyombo 1-4 2-4 4, Lowry 12-27 9-10 36, DeRozan 8-21 7-7 23, Ross 3-8 0-0 6, J.Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Nogueira 1-1 0-0 2, Joseph 3-9 1-2 7, Powell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-82 19-25 91.

MIAMI (103): Jo.Johnson 5-10 2-2 13, Winslow 4-9 3-4 12, Deng 1-5 0-0 2, Dragic 12-21 4-4 30, Wade 8-21 5-6 22, McRoberts 5-8 0-0 10, T.Johnson 1-1 2-4 5, Richardson 4-9 0-0 9. Totals 40-84 16-20 103.

Toronto 20 24 28 19— 91

Miami 21 32 29 21— 103

3-Point GoalsToronto 4-16 (Lowry 3-5, Carroll 1-3, DeRozan 0-1, J.Johnson 0-1, Patterson 0-2, Ross 0-4), Miami 7-20 (Dragic 2-5, Winslow 1-1, T.Johnson 1-1, Jo.Johnson 1-2, Richardson 1-3, Wade 1-4, McRoberts 0-1, Deng 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsToronto 43 (Biyombo 13), Miami 41 (Deng 8). AssistsToronto 10 (Lowry 3), Miami 15 (Wade 5). Total FoulsToronto 18, Miami 18. A19,757 (19,600).

BIG THREE UNDECIDED: San Antonio's unexpected and abrupt end brings on another stressful summer that begins with what has become an annual quandary. Will Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili return?

"I really don't know what they're going to do," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Friday, a day after his team's season-ending 113-99 loss at Oklahoma City. "But when they do decide to move on, sometime between now and the next five years — that's a little bit of a joke — it will feel a little differently walking into the gym."

"We'll see," said Tony Parker, 33, the other member of San Antonio's Big Three. "It's going to be a long summer for us."

Duncan, 40, and Ginobili, 38, both have player options on the two-year contracts they signed last summer, but neither has given any indication what he plans to do.

WARRIORS-THUNDER: Golden State hosts the opener of the Western Conference final against Oklahoma City on Monday and are counting on Stephen Curry to be fully healthy from his knee injury. "Hopefully, it will be close to 100 percent by Monday night," Curry said after Friday's practice.