dailyloe.com – The Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 121-95 at home on Tuesday night, a result that officially secured Miami’s place in the NBA’s play-in tournament for a fourth consecutive season.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 25 points, supported by Brandon Ingram’s 23 points and Jakob Poeltl’s 17 points.
A dominant 19-2 run in the first half gave Toronto a commanding lead it never relinquished, improving its record to 44-35.
The Raptors now sit one game behind Atlanta for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
They also hold a one-game lead over Philadelphia for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff berth.
For Miami, Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points, but star center Bam Adebayo was held to just seven points.
Adebayo shot a poor 2-for-14 from the field in the loss.
The Heat have now lost nine of their last twelve games, falling to a 41-38 record.
This loss likely condemns them to the No. 10 seed for the play-in tournament for a second straight year.
Toronto completed a season-series sweep, going 3-0 against Miami this year.
The teams will conclude a two-game series in Toronto on Thursday night.[]
Source: ESPN
