Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 114-109 loss to the Miami Heat.
One — The Heat buried the Raptors under an avalanche of late threes to give Kyle Lowry the win in his long-awaited return to Toronto. Miami overcame a 10-point halftime deficit for an impressive win on the second night of a back-to-back without Jimmy Butler and other veterans who sat out due to rest. For the Raptors, it was an opportunity missed to stay ahead of the Chicago Bulls, who also lost to the Heat a night prior but remain ahead of the Raptors by virtue of a tiebreaker.
Two — The story of the game was all about Lowry. The pageantry and anticipation for his return was overwhelming, and it was a beautiful tribute to the most storied player in franchise history. Lowry stepped into Scotiabank Arena sporting a sharp suit and the gaudy Raptors championship ring, before showering praise on the entire organization from the players to coaches, to management, and even leaving love for the media. Then before the opening tip, the Raptors played a wonderful tribute video for their former captain, who squeezed his two sons under each arm at centre court while holding back tears to loud ovations. And even after defeating the team, there were still massive throngs of fans who gathered around him during his post-game interview, and who cheered him one last time as Lowry walked to the four corners of the floor to soak in all the appreciation from fans who arrived early and stayed late to enjoy every second of his homecoming.
Three — The first half was about the game within the game between Lowry and his former teammates. On the first possession of the game, the Raptors opened by sending a hard trap at Lowry just as the longtime veteran had predicted. On the flip side, Lowry responded by trying to slide under Pascal Siakam on a drive to sell his signature charge. There was a clear effort on both sides to outsmart one another, as Siakam and Fred VanVleet kept trying to seek out Lowry, who also beat the Raptors with small moves like baiting Siakam and Scottie Barnes into cheap fouls, while also pump faking Chris Boucher out of his shorts to get free for three. There was an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia in watching these old champions go at each other, and even though Lowry got the upper hand this time, you can't help but smile at the bonds to him that will be everlasting.
Four — Lowry smartly deflected the extra attention on him to create chances for his teammates. He only took eight shots, knowing full well that his former coach would try to take the ball out of his hands, but did so productively and with purpose. Lowry would either get the pass a beat before the help came, or he would intentionally drive into traffic to draw a crowd, before kicking it out to shooters. The Heat were well prepared for these sequences, as they were always perfectly spaced out to capitalize. Lowry finished with 10 assists and grifted his way to seven trips to the foul line. Lowry made the point pre-game that all the former Raptors have struggled to get to their averages in their return, which is true as DeMar DeRozan was famously blitzed by Lowry to set up the game-winner for Kawhi Leonard, who himself was trapped and coughed up nine turnovers in his first reunion. But in Lowry's case, he outsmarted the coverage by not forcing his own scoring and trusting in the pass and his teammates to win the team game.
Five — Miami's supporting cast was sharp when they needed to be. The Heat hit 18 threes, including scoring 12-for-18 in the second half to erase a double-digit deficit. Max Strus and Victor Oladipo did the bulk of the damage, combining to make 13 triples, including several difficult shots in the fourth quarter to keep the Raptors at bay. On the other end, the Raptors were lacking in firepower, with Miami employing a similar strategy of trapping VanVleet in the second half after he burned them for 21 points in the first half. Barnes tried to extend himself by launching nine threes, which is far too many for a poor shooter even if his aggressiveness came from a place of good.
Six — The Raptors also had trouble covering Tyler Herro, who came close to a triple-double. Herro is a lock to win Sixth Man of the Year and is consistently effective for the Heat in the second unit, but the Raptors have historically kept him under control. Tonight, however, Herro was able to catch the Raptors flat-footed all night, either through his perpetual off-ball movement to spring free for jumpers, or by making quick and decisive moves to drive the ball. Herro picked the Raptors apart in the second half, delivering three straight dimes to Omer Yurtseven on open rolls to the basket while the Raptors blitzed him out top, and made three hard drives to set up Strus twice and Oladipo for pivotal threes that gave the Heat the lead.
Seven — Siakam had 29 points yet this felt like an opportunity missed. Without Butler and P.J. Tucker, the Heat didn't have anyone who could match Siakam for size. Perhaps they could have switched Bam Adebayo on him, but Siakam was using his quickness to good effect to create clean looks there. The only limiting factor was that Siakam didn't see the ball enough, especially in the second quarter when he played the entire 12 minutes but attempted only three shots. Siakam came on strong late scoring 15 in the fourth, getting to the foul line, knocking down a three, and scoring repeatedly against Yurtseven in the post despite being the smaller player, but it was too late. As soon as it became clear that the Heat were looking to trap VanVleet in the second half, the offence should have shifted to Siakam.
Eight — Barnes was productive overall but could have made better reads on offence. He took nine threes because the Heat were purposely helping off him, but that's still too many attempts for his accuracy at the moment. The most regrettable of the bunch was an early triple with 19 seconds left on the clock, in which the better move would have been to try and attack Markieff Morris off the bounce instead of settling. Barnes also had two instances where he was checked by Strus, who is much smaller and a prime target for Barnes to attack, except he settled for a pair of midrange jumpers. Without his aggressiveness going to the basket, there were very few chances where Barnes was able to draw a crowd and kick the ball out, which is why he finished with just two assists.
Nine — The Raptors got nothing off the bench while being outscored 45-13 by Miami's reserves. Precious Achiuwa has been excellent of late, but he looked jittery and unsure against his former team. Boucher was a bit wild defensively and wasn't able to convert as many chances as he needed to as he was stripped under the basket on two layups. Thad Young's decision-making was solid and delivered the pass of the night with a cross-court dime to Gary Trent Jr. for an opposite corner three, but he was also wasteful on offence by shanking an open three, getting a transition layup blocked, and missing a pair of foul shots. The reality is that none of the three are consistent scorers, so these empty nights are bound to happen from time to time. The good thing is that these games used to be the norm, but are now more seldom.
Ten — Khem Birch was completely empty in his 13 minutes as a de facto starter. Nick Nurse has turned to Birch for spot starts throughout the season, and perhaps the idea was to match the physicality from Adebayo, but Birch ended up doing very little of note on both ends. His stint in the third quarter was especially rough, as he lost his footing, got beat out on rebounds, and refused to look score despite being left wide open as his man went to trap VanVleet and Siakam. It's like playing 4-on-5 with him on the floor most times, and come time for the postseason, Nurse should really only be relying on the trio of Young, Achiuwa, and Boucher for minutes at center behind Barnes or Siakam in the starting group.
