Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
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It Was Over When: Lou Williams drilled a three-pointer with 31 seconds remaining to give the Toronto Raptors a five-point lead over the Miami Heat.
Turning Point: With Toronto trailing by five, Vasquez found Patrick Patterson for a three-pointer to trim the lead to two. On Toronto’s next possession, Mario Chalmers fouled Patterson beyond the 3-point line and Patterson sank all three free throws to put the Raptors ahead by one. The Heat couldn’t score on their next attempt, Vasquez drilled a three-pointer and then Chuck Hayes capped off an 11-0 Raptors run as Toronto went ahead by six.
Raptors Player of the Game: Lou Williams was fantastic against the Heat, putting in another Sixth Man of the Year-worthy performance with 29 points in 30 minutes. Williams scored a game-high 20 points in the first quarter, then scored five points in the final two minutes to help Toronto seal the victory. Williams was 9-for-18 from the floor, 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.
The Underrated Raptor: DeMar DeRozan had 24 points on 7-for-17 field goals, while hitting his only three-point attempt in the game and making nine of his 11 free throw attempts. DeRozan also added six rebounds, two assists and four steals against the Heat.
It's Been A While In South Beach: The victory was Toronto’s first in Miami since November 19, 2008.
Homecourt Clinched: With the victory, Toronto clinched homecourt advantage for the first round of the postseason. They remain in third place in the Eastern Conference by by virtue of holding the first tiebreaker over the Bulls, who also improved to 48-32 on Saturday.
That’s A Rap…
“It’s been a pretty good week. This one especially feels good, clinching home court. It's my first time having home court in my 10-year career. I look forward to it.” - Lou Williams, on the key Raptors victory
By The Numbers
47 - Rebounds from both teams. With Hassan Whiteside hauling down 18 boards, the Raptors got a huge boost from guards DeRozan and Kyle Lowry who combined for 13 rebounds. Chuck Hayes also contributed seven boards off the bench in 15 minutes.
10 - Jonas Valanciunas fouled out of the game after just 10 minutes.
12 - Just 12 assists for Toronto in this one. Miami didn’t fare much better, recording 14 dimes in the game.
20 - Missed free throws from the Miami Heat. Whiteside was a dismal 4-for-16 as the Heat finished 24-for-44 from the line.
35 - Percent shooting from beyond the arc for Toronto, despite Lowry’s 0-for-8 night from three. Lowry’s conditioning looked good in the second night of a back-to-back, but it’s obvious he’ll need to shake off the rust of a nine-game layoff.
48 - Raptors victories, tying last year’s franchise record with two games remaining in the regular season.
They Said It
“Everything feels good to me, honestly. I was here through the downs and the struggles. Every small obstacle or whatever it may be, something small like this means a lot, just to break that and get out of it.” - DeRozan on finally winning in Miami and Charlotte
“My rhythm is still off. I am missing shots I know I can make. They’re going to fall and I’m not going to stop shooting, so I’m just trying to get myself back. I felt good. For me it’s not about scoring. It’s about doing the other things, rebounding, assisting, stealing the ball and being in the right position. For me it was just about winning the game and it’s about winning the game for my teammates.” - Kyle Lowry on his performance in his second game back
“I liked out approach. I thought we played at a level we had to play at. I thought it was composed and under control. We could've folded down 10 in the first half, we were getting drilled every which way possible. We found a way; consequently on the defensive end we got some key stops. We scored when we needed to score. I thought that was huge. But I thought we met their physicality going down the stretch and that was big. Whiteside is a handful in the paint; Dwyane Wade is a winner and a champion so we knew that they were going to come out with their best tonight.” - Dwane Casey on his team bouncing back
Up Next: The Raptors finish a four-game trip in Boston where they will take on the Celtics in their final meeting of the regular season on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM ET. Toronto will be looking to avenge a loss at the buzzer to Boston back on April 4th at Air Canada Centre.