Instant classic.
 | Raptors | 124 | Final Box Score | 120 | Heat |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam57 MIN, 21 PTS, 13 REB, 6 AST, 4 STL, 7-18 FG, 1-3 3FG, 6-6 FT, 4 BLK, 4 TO, +8 +/- Far and away the best defensive performance any Raptors has put out there this season. Stonewalled Jimmy Butler in isolation, as a help-side defender, blew up pick n’ rolls, knifed in for steals, and cleaned the glass. Incredible. The offense was a slog at the end, and his whistle was atrocious, but he saved the Raptors on the defensive end. A special, special performance. | |
 A | O. Anunoby56 MIN, 20 PTS, 14 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL, 9-21 FG, 2-7 3FG, 0-2 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -5 +/- Had a really rough stretch offensively filled with slow decision making, odd turnovers, and missed shots, but he was still mighty helpful as a cutter and he played awesome primary defense on Butler all night. Blanketed him, didn’t jump on the pump, and comfortably stepped out on on anyone else on switches. He was a smidge behind Pascal on that end, but holy moly was he ever good. | |
 A | S. Barnes56 MIN, 22 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 7-13 FG, 3-6 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, +9 +/- Tremendous work on Adebayo all night. Complicated all of their DHO actions and pushed them into a lot of secondary looks. Those free throws, though – clutch. Hit three triples, made enough reads to keep his possessions potent, and helped out immensely on the glass. | |
 A | F. VanVleet54 MIN, 19 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 7-22 FG, 5-14 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 5 TO, +1 +/- This is a classic example of: do you value moments or full performances? Fred no doubt hit the biggest shots of the game and they were life saving considering the state of the offense. Over the full game, though? The Raptors struggled more with him on ball and you can tell he was laboring to move the way he usually does. Got a little bit too adventurous with some dig downs in overtime, but he was great on switches and fighting through screens. He made the most of the biggest moments. This is why his clutch stats are INSANE. | |
 A+ | G. Trent Jr.56 MIN, 33 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 5 STL, 13-28 FG, 5-15 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +2 +/- Was in a very special place as a jump shooter for the first 3 quarters of the game. Fell off pretty hard as the game went on, but that’s the way of tough shot-making. And that was at a premium in this game. His pursuit and ball pressure as a defender was a massive factor in the Raptors putting their best foot forward on that end. He couldn’t make it happen late, but the body of work in this one was really, really great. | |
 C+ | C. Boucher12 MIN, 1 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/- Hard defense, but couldn’t crack that finishing lineup, for obvious reasons. | |
 B | P. Achiuwa16 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Had the craziest alley-oop bounce I’ve ever seen, which almost seemed lost in this Odyssey. Hard to even remember what his overall game was like, honestly. Best finishing game in awhile. | |
 C+ | D. Banton9 MIN, 0 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +3 +/- Was part of a really strong run, and a really weak one. His defense was on the positive side of things, but the Heat’s zone defense made his presence on the floor a liability to start the 4th. | |
 A | Nick Nurse Ran with his guys and beat one of the Eastern Conference’s best. Their best looks came from the Pascal actions late, but most of the shotmaking came on broken plays and Fred’s insane and large balls. A win is a win. | |
Things We Saw
- It really, really hurt to watch the Raptors pull off the corners against Jimmy when he had already picked up his dribble. That aspect of the defense just has to be picked up on, because the corner threes kept the Heat in it.
- Don’t take what Siakam and OG did for granted. That was one of the most impressive defensive performances you’ll get to see all year.
- That Siakam offensive call was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Couldn’t believe it.
