Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh missed the game, but the Heat still routed the Raptors.
To say Wednesday’s affront to basketball by the Heat and Raptors felt like a throwaway preseason game would be giving it too much credit.
It was more like a cross between one of those hastily conceived charity games the players organized during the lockout and a summer-league game in Las Vegas. Some Heat players went through the motions like they didn’t even know the score. Others took advantage of the opportunity. Meanwhile, the Raptors were downright awful.
The Heat rested three starters, including Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and still defeated the Raptors 96-72 at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Raptors scored 23 points after halftime, which tied Toronto’s franchise record for fewest points in a half.
In other words, Toronto’s desire to tank the game was clearly more focused than the Heat’s indifference. The Raptors were 1 of 16 from three-point range.
LeBron James, in the hunt for the league’s MVP Award, was the Heat’s only superstar to see the court. He started the game 10 of 11 from the field and finished with 28 points five rebounds and four assists.
“I was a recipient of good offense tonight,” James said.
The Heat locked up the second seed in Eastern Conference playoffs with Wednesday’s victory but there’s still an outside shot Miami can overtake Chicago with five games left. The Heat (44-17) trails the Bulls (47-15) by two games in the loss column and plays Bulls at home Thursday night.
While Thursday’s game will be a pivotal in the playoff seeding, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it’s not his team’s focus.
“It’s more important how we’re playing,” Spoelstra said. “We want to focus on us and how we’re playing, and every opportunity we have to go out there and compete. Regardless of who we’re playing, we want to win.”
That rhetoric is a far cry from Spoelstra’s tone before the Heat’s loss to Chicago at United Center last week. Spoelstra viewed that game as a potential turning point for the Heat’s struggles on the road against top-flight competition.
“All things being equal, we would probably prefer this one is on the road again,” Spoelstra said Wednesday.
Of course, the Heat has had no problems at home this season. The team is 26-4 at AmericanAirlines Arena. The latest victory almost felt preordained.
The Heat trailed early and only led by two points at halftime but the outcome appeared inevitable. For Toronto, the team with the worst record in the Atlantic Division worst team, this condensed and shortened season is already over. The Raptors scored 11 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth quarter.
The night’s highlight came at the end of the third quarter with the Heat leading 72-60. With timing expiring, Mario Chalmers tossed a prayer of a pass down court to James, who was blanketed by a pair of defenders like a wide receiver on a Hail Mary. James outjumped Amir Johnson, dribbled and coolly finished the play with a layup at the buzzer.
“He’s LeBron,” said Shane Battier, who had seven points in 25 minutes. “He’s MVP. Chalk it up to another day at the office.”
If nothing else, the game was a good opportunity for players such as Mike Miller to sharpen their skills and improve their stamina before the playoffs. Still feeling his way back after an ankle injury, Miller finished with 13 points in 22 minutes and was 3 of 4 from three-point range. He scored eight pointsin a row in the fourth quarter to give the Heat a 20-point lead.
AmericanAirlines Arena was half empty with five minutes left. The fans who left early missed a rare Eddy Curry sighting, who dunked with 3:19 left in the game to give the Heat a 92-69 lead. A minute earlier, Heat reserve Joel Anthony had back-to-back dunks against the Raptors’ beleaguered defense.
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