 | James Johnson, PF 27 MIN | 3-7 FG | 2-4 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | +14 +/-He made a few mistakes, to be sure. The risk-averse might find this rating too high. But I thought his aggression on offesne was good and mostly within himself, and he did a better job on Wade than any of the team’s other wings. Still wonder if maybe he’d be better coming off the bench and helping Joseph with ball-handling duties. |  | |||||||
 | Luis Scola, PF 23 MIN | 4-6 FG | 2-3 3FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | +9 +/-If I were to ever just guess Scola’s line without watching a game, I’d guess 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He didn’t help out on the glass and wasn’t a natural play when the Heat went small, but was still his usual, useful, affable self. | | |||||||
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 27 MIN | 2-7 FG | 0-0 3FG | 5-6 FT | 13 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | +18 +/-Did better getting out on Bosh than he’s done against some similarly stretchy bigs of late, though that left the defensive glass open (a team issue). Protected the rim really well in help and pick-and-roll situations, catching two of his three blocks. Continues to show encouraging progress as a passer. Just had a tough shooting night, thanks in part to a bit of indecisiveness. | | |||||||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 38 MIN | 5-12 FG | 2-7 3FG | 3-3 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 15 PTS | +17 +/-The final stat line is muted some, but he was pretty clearly fired up (and touched) by the All-Star nod. The team floundered pretty much whenever he hit the bench, and tasking him with 38 minutes isn’t ideal. Lowry seemed to feel the same way, stripping Josh Richardson and heading in for an and-1 to effectively close things out. |  | |||||||
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 36 MIN | 12-25 FG | 4-5 3FG | 5-6 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 33 PTS | +16 +/-He hit four threes! What the hell? He started the game ridiculously hot, scoring a career-high 15 in the first quarter despite a great defender opposite him in Winslow. Created well for others once extra attention came and didn’t give much back on defense, largely because the Raptors kept him away from Wade. | | |||||||
 | Anthony Bennett, PF 2 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +2 +/-Yung Poutine – Victory Poutine? As friend of the site Alex Wong suggests – had a rebound. Woo! |  | |||||||
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 24 MIN | 2-5 FG | 1-4 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +9 +/-Thought he played poorly for the most part. I wonder if Casey let him play through it to see how he might handle Wade in the event they see each other in the playoffs, and while Patterson showed good quickness, he was susceptible to the Bag O’ Tricks. |  | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SF 22 MIN | 4-4 FG | 2-2 3FG | 3-4 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 13 PTS | +3 +/-Did a really good job defensively on Green but struggled with Wade, something predictable given how he can struggle chasing players off the ball. Offensively, he was fire early, the only bench player contributing, but he was a non-factor in the second half. |  | |||||||
 | Bismack Biyombo, C 21 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +2 +/-Hit the glass well and turned away a couple of shots (and a dunk) at the rim. It doesn’t rest solely on Biyombo, but boy, is Joseph ever having a tough time when they’re in a pick-and-roll together. There’s nothing Biyombo can really do about that – he sets good screens and is what he is offensively – but the team continues to struggle some when those two play without Lowry helping them out. | | |||||||
 | Delon Wright, PG 2 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +2 +/-While three of his pals were in Westchester, had a nice drive to the rim for a bucket. | | |||||||
 | Cory Joseph, PG 20 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +8 +/-His offensive decision making has lost the plot some. He’s put together a few poor shooting, low-assist games in a row now, and without a point guard to stop on defense (the Heat went sans-PG for long stretches, leaving Joseph on Ross or Richardson), his impact was negligible. | | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey It’s always tough to evaluate a coach in a game like this. The Raptors won big, but they should have given the circumstances. Lowry and DeRozan played too much, but the team kept letting the lead slip away thanks to a bad night from the bench. Some of that is on him, maybe, but the guys have to hold the lead, too. My only major strategic gripe is that even with spacing a potential issue, I don’t think Patterson should have been playing over Johnson late given how each had played throughout. | | |||||||
Five Things We Saw
- With the win, the Raptor have tied the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. The longest is nine games, which the team set in 2001-02 as they made a late playoff push without Vince Carter. Memories, man.
- It looked like the Raptors may be slipping into an old habit in the second quarter, taking their foot off the gas. Their 13-point lead was cut all the way to seven, only for the team to close the quarter strong and enter the break up 17. Of course, they let it slip to 11 late in the third after pushing it as high as 20, which was just close enough for Casey to ride Lowry in the fourth. Sigh.
- The root cause of not being able to put the Heat away late? Try five (!) turnovers in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. How is that even possible? It’s a good thing the Heat had, like, half a team. The defense remained mostly stellar throughout, mind you, save for a few slip-ups on Wade.
- Stop booing Chris Bosh. Seriously. He left for entirely understandable reasons, he didn’t say anything on his way out that was inflammatory or untrue (except the silly cable thing), and the Raptors got back two first-round picks (Jonas Valanciunas [there’s some conflicting information as to if the pick was protected, in which case, Bruno Caboclo, and a pick they flipped for James Johnson) back for him. He is probably the second-best player in franchise history and seems like a genuinely terrific human being. Stop. Booing him.
- I know DeRozan went off, but I remain enamored with Justise Winslow. I think he’s going to be (is, really) an elite multi-position defender, and I don’t see why he can’t become a better 3-point shooter. The luxury of having him guard the tougher wing for Wade is similar to the DeRozan-Carroll dynamic.
