Quick Reaction: Heat 90, Raptors 89

A blown foul to give, another Ibaka ejection, and a Lorenzo Brown sighting. This is how you lose by one.

Miami

Toronto

C+	S. Ibaka22 MIN, 11 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-10 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-3 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Ibaka was leaned on heavily in the first half and was the Raptors’ second best scoring option with Lowry out…until Ibaka left as well. Another scuffle (how many is that for him now?) with James Johnson and the two players were both ejected. As versatile as Johnson is on both ends of the floor the Heat won this exchange and it’s hard to help your team when you can’t keep your emotions in check. Toronto got destroyed inside all game – but especially when Ibaka left the floor.
A-	O. Anunoby26 MIN, 2 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- He literally has the toughest assignment every night on defence and still delivers. He was everywhere tonight and seemed like the only Raptor capable of handling Adebayo. He should legit be in the conversation for a defensive-team nomination. He also somehow led the team in rebounds tonight…which tells you all you need to know about our next Raptor.
C-	J. Valanciunas21 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Had his typical game of scoring in the first half and doing nothing in the second. Didn’t play a lick until the 4th quarter when he came in for the last minute for his rebounding. The thing was…Wright beat him out on the defensive glass. His “presence” altered the shot according to the broadcast but honestly, he was just so outworked on the glass tonight. Disappointing.
A-	D. Wright29 MIN, 13 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Give him all the minutes. He was confident, composed, long as ever and jacked full of energy. He was asked to do more tonight and he responded all over the court. He deflected a pass with a minute left that forced the Heat to miss a clutch shot even if it was all for naught. If he can keep this up for as long as Lowry is out the Raps should be just fine.
A-	D. DeRozan35 MIN, 25 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 10-29 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- Looked exhausted tonight – and rightly so. The second night of a back to back with no legs in his shot didn’t stop him from making plays – and being aggressive down the stretch. Hit a clutch three and driving layup to help them lead by 1 with under 2 minutes to go…and then you all know what happened. Gets his own rebound, no foul and puts it back in. Full-blown in the MVP conversation, even with that heart-breaking loss. Plus he almost killed Dragic at the end of the game so that was fun.
D+	N. Powell24 MIN, 4 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 2-8 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- With Lowry out and Ibaka ejected, the Raps needed Powell to step up and he….didn’t. It was so disappointing to watch him squander another big opportunity to impress. He was active on defence, but didn’t make a three again and had some brutal drives at the rim.
B	F. VanVleet19 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Would have liked to see more of VanVleet down the stretch but his shot was off tonight and he was undersized on defence against the gigantic Heat tonight. Still played with confidence and ran an effective offence with Lowry out of the lineup.
B-	C. Miles19 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- Miles played sporadically tonight, but was still confident as ever shooting the basketball. He made some big threes to help the Raptors climb back into the ball game but was a liability on defence. He needs to be helped out guarding far too often to justify staying on the floor.
C+	L. Nogueira15 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 5 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Five bocks seems awesome – but when you see how exposed BeBe gets the second he moves away from the rim it becomes concerning. How did he not finish with a rebound either? That literally makes zero sense. His second half was brutal.
C	P. Siakam15 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Siakam is going to get a lot of heat for his blown assignment on the final play of the game – but the Raptors also had a foul to give and no one seemed to know? He was a non-factor tonight and took some ill advised shots late in the clock.
C-	J. Poeltl9 MIN, 3 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- Another culprit of getting outworked on the glass, Poeltl was ineffective in his nine minutes and couldn’t recover fast enough under the net to help fend off the Heat.
	L. Brown6 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Yes, Lorenzo Brown played in this game and was effective – at least on defense. He stayed in front of his attacker and switched well when he needed to. Legitimately bothered Goran Dragic and helped give Wright and VanVleet a breather to start the 4th.
C+	Dwane Casey Did the best he could with Lowry out and Ibaka leaving early – but not pounding home the fact that the Raptors had a foul to give ultimately falls on the coach. Just a brutal, inexcusable way to lose.