Game Centre: Raptors rally to handle the Heat on Boxing Day | The Star
Whiteside Wonderland: Serge Ibaka got a rude awakening after three games out with knee soreness in the form of Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside helped Miami pound the Raptors in the paint early on, a can’t-miss moment when he drove at Ibaka around the five-minute mark and pulled off a Siakam-like spin move before dunking on Toronto’s starting centre.
Raptors Post-Game: Kawhi Leonard – December 26, 2018 – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA7eAfNBy6c
Raptors storm back to beat Heat with huge 2nd half | CBC Sports
“Gutsy win by us at the end,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Miami led 58-44 at the half and extended the lead to 17 early in the third quarter, before Toronto went to a zone — the defence that the Heat have been using so well of late — and the game changed. VanVleet made three 3s and had 11 points while Leonard added 10 in what became a 31-12 run over the last 8:10 of the quarter by the Raptors, and they took an 81-79 lead into the fourth.
Raptors Post-Game: Nick Nurse – December 26, 2018 – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OVbPHmPj5k
Takeaways: Raptors overcome big obstacles to steal win in Miami – Sportsnet.ca
When these teams met on Nov. 25, Jonas Valanciunas started at centre for the Raptors and had his way with Heat big man Hassan Whiteside. Valanciunas poured in 17 points and 10 rebounds on a very efficient 8-of-10 shooting while helping put Whiteside in foul trouble and limit him to just two points in 12 minutes.
With Valanciunas still sidelined by a thumb injury, it was Serge Ibaka drawing the start at the five spot in his first game back from knee soreness. The 29-year-old looked rusty in his first action since Dec. 16, shooting 2-of-10 from the floor for six points on the night.
Defensively, Ibaka and the rest of the Raptors bigs had issues trying to contain Whiteside. The seven-footer didn’t have any trouble getting easy baskets on the offensive end, registering 16 points on 12 shots. He was a monster protecting the paint as well and finished a game-high plus-22.
Recap: Raptors escape Miami with 106-104 comeback win – Raptors HQ
But then the Raptors woke up in the second half. Led by another great Kawhi Leonard game (30 points, eight rebounds, two assists), timely shooting from Danny Green (18 points, four 3s) and Fred VanVleet (16 pts, four 3s), and strong performances from Delon Wright and Norm Powell, Toronto would go on to win 106-104 over the Heat.
The Raptors started the game like a team that had had seconds. Miami was aggressive attacking the basket and early on Hassan Whiteside had his way with Raptors centre Serge Ibaka. Whiteside can be a limited player, but with Ibaka unable to make him pay with his pick-and-pop game, the Heat’s centre got comfortable and repeatedly over-powered the Raptors’ nominal five.
The nadir of this match-up came at about the half-way point of the quarter with Whiteside going coast-to-coast and spinning past Serge for a lay-in to make it 23-10 Heat.
Nick Nurse finally responded by going to Greg Monroe, and the Moose delivered. Monroe used his physical offensive game to bull through Whiteside, and smartly played off him to force Whiteside to tap into his limited shooting and passing game.
OG Anunoby also gave the Raps a lift, knocking down a triple and being aggressive with his dribble. Led by a greater display of defensive energy, Toronto cut the deficit to 31-23 at the end of one.
Raptors Post-Game: Fred VanVleet – December 26, 2018 – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XARC9GRxk58
Raptors video: Heat TV announcer forgets Danny Green is no longer with the Spurs
Hilariously, he had in his memory that Danny Green was still a member of the San Antonio Spurs. This past summer, the Spurs sent Green and Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors in a blockbuster deal that sent DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl to San Antonio.
The trade was pushed on by the destruction of trust between Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Kawhi Leonard’s camp. The Spurs knew they had to move on from Leonard, so they acquired another star in DeRozan, who’s under contract for much longer.
The deal has worked well for both sides. The Raptors finally have their game-changing top-10 player they needed to top the East, plus a terrific role player in Danny Green. The Spurs have someone they can build around who fits Popovich’s system.
Raptors Post-Game: Danny Green – December 26, 2018 – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDX6ulh3TKg
Raptors 106 – HEAT 104 Game Recap | Miami Heat
The Miami HEAT fell to the Toronto Raptors 106-104 Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Justise Winslow led the way for the HEAT with 21 points.
1. Winslow Does All He Can In The 4th
After a fantastic outing against the Magic his last time out, Winslow simply continued to make an impact on both ends of the floor.In addition to hounding Kawhi Leonard for most of the night with stout defense like this…
Five takeaways from Miami Heat’s loss to Toronto Raptors | Miami Herald
One month after the Heat (16-17) lost to the Raptors by 10 points, Miami saw Wednesday’s game against Toronto as a test. The Heat lost again, but proved it’s made some big strides since its Nov. 25 loss against the Raptors.
Before Wednesday’s contest, Dwyane Wade shared an interesting anecdote about what he remembers from last month’s loss in Toronto. That game was decided by 10 points, but it was a more lopsided affair than the final score indicates with the Raptors leading by as many as 26 points.
“The thing that stood out the most from that game, period, is just the conversation we had in the locker room after the game,” Wade said. “Coach [Erik Spoelstra] was very candid with us that we had a lot of work to do and that we weren’t as good as Toronto. We had a lot of work to do before the next time we played them to see from a measuring stick where we’re at the next time we play them, and it was a month away from that game.
#928 – Raptors-Heat Reaction – Coming up clutch – YouTube
No quit in Raptors in impressive, tough road win | The Star
We’ve seen it a few times now, teams sending a second defender at Kawhi Leonard when he gets the ball on the wing and inevitably starts to make his move to the right corner and side to get his sweet spot.
The Heat waited a couple of beats to do it last night on a couple of occasions and that’s a bit different and, for the most part, Leonard handled it well.
He’s got that explosive lift and strength that allows him to elevate and get his shot off against two defenders but if he doesn’t, I think he’s got to be a bit more decisive and quick in moving the ball.
The pass back to the top and a couple of swing passes should yield an open corner three-pointer on the other side, or some drive-and-kick action would get the same shot and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be pointed out in repeated film sessions.
It’s a bit nit-picking on a truly excellent offensive player like Leonard is but it’s another step in the evolution of the Raptors offence they need to take.
Of course, it’ll mean that guy on the other side has to make an open shot and that’s never a sure thing with these Raptors but it’s the right basketball move.
