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Raptors lose to depleted Heat

Miami is without four key players because of injuries and coronavirus issues.
 
Heat forward Kelly Olynyk, right, blocks a shot by Raptors guard Fred VanVleet during the first half of their game Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.
Heat forward Kelly Olynyk, right, blocks a shot by Raptors guard Fred VanVleet during the first half of their game Wednesday night at Amalie Arena. [ CHRIS O'MEARA | AP ]
Published Jan. 21, 2021

TAMPA — The Heat were missing a lot of firepower Wednesday night. They did have Kendrick Nunn and a zone defense the Raptors couldn’t figure out.

Nunn scored 28 points and the depleted Heat pulled away in the second half for a 111-102 win at Amalie Arena.

Bam Adebayo had 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Miami, and Kelly Olynyk came off the bench with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Despite missing four key players — Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Avery Bradley and Meyers Leonard — the Heat won their second straight.

Herro missed a third game with neck spasms. Butler and Bradley missed their fifth straight games while in coronavirus protocol. Leonard warmed up but sat out a fifth game with a shoulder injury.

“I don’t know what percentage of our scoring wasn’t here tonight, but we have a lot of guys who can score 20 points,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “In this situation, either you put your tail between your legs or you rise to the occasion for your team.”

Fred VanVleet had 24 points and nine assists for the Raptors (5-9), whose three-game winning streak ended. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby scored 18 points each for Toronto, which shot 30.2 percent (13-for-43) in the second half and 39.8 percent (35-for-88) overall.

“It seemed like we were stuck on 85 for a long stretch late in the game,” VanVleet said. “We’ll have to get some better looks instead of shooting 3s all the time. When you don’t make shots against a zone, it has a snowball effect. They get more aggressive, and it makes it harder.”

After scoring Toronto’s first seven points of the game, Kyle Lowry finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Nunn, who had scored just 33 points all season before his 18-point game Monday night, came off the bench and shot 9-of-12 and grabbed eight rebounds in 35 minutes.

The Heat took an 88-83 lead into the fourth quarter.

Two straight 3-pointers by Goran Dragic gave Miami a double-digit lead in the closing minutes.

“It’s irrelevant what the (defensive) scheme is,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s effective zone defense. “Our man defense was good as well. I was more looking to whether we were committed to multiple efforts, and we had those tonight.”

— By DICK SCANLON

MIAMI (111): Olynyk 5-10 3-3 15, Robinson 4-7 2-2 14, Adebayo 6-14 2-2 14, Dragic 6-16 2-2 17, Vincent 1-8 0-0 3, Achiuwa 2-3 0-2 4, Iguodala 5-6 0-0 13, Strus 1-4 0-0 3, Nunn 9-12 6-6 28. Totals 39-80 15-17 111.

TORONTO (102): Anunoby 6-12 2-2 18, Siakam 7-15 4-4 18, Baynes 1-3 0-0 3, Lowry 2-12 3-4 8, VanVleet 7-18 7-8 24, Boucher 3-7 0-0 8, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 6-12 0-0 16, Powell 3-8 0-0 7. Totals 35-88 16-18 102.

Miami 29 27 32 23 — 111

Toronto 23 35 25 19 — 102

3-Point Goals—Miami 18-40 (Nunn 4-6, Robinson 4-6, Iguodala 3-4, Dragic 3-7, Olynyk 2-6, Strus 1-3, Vincent 1-8), Toronto 16-49 (Anunoby 4-8, Davis 4-9, VanVleet 3-8, Boucher 2-3, Baynes 1-3, Powell 1-5, Lowry 1-10, Siakam 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 46 (Adebayo 13), Toronto 41 (Lowry 10). Assists—Miami 29 (Olynyk 8), Toronto 27 (VanVleet 9). Total Fouls—Miami 19, Toronto 21.