Trent Jr. Tops 30 For 5th Straight Game As Raptors Beat Heat
TORONTO (AP) — Gary Trent Jr. scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors won their third straight game Tuesday, beating the Miami Heat 110-106.
Trent matched DeMar DeRozan's franchise record and extended his personal career best by reaching 30 points for the fifth consecutive game.
Fred VanVleet scored 21 points, OG Anunoby had 13, Precious Achiuwa 12 and Scottie Barnes 11 as the Raptors won their second straight meeting with Miami. Toronto beat the Heat 124-120 in triple overtime last Saturday.
Bam Adebayo had 32 points and 11 rebounds, Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 12 assists, and Tyler Herro scored 18 points for the Heat, who lost their third straight.
Down by as many as 15 in the first half, Toronto cut the gap to 83-80 after three quarters, tied it on a 3-pointer by Siakam with 10:02 left, then took its first lead of the game on Achiuwa's 3 with 9:16 remaining.
Miami led 93-92 after Butler made a pair of free throws with 6:46 left. Trent responded with a personal 8-0 run, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, then making two of three at the line to put Toronto up 100-93 at 4:35.
Anunoby converted a three-point play with 2:53 left and VanVleet added a free throw after Miami's Max Strus was called for a technical, giving the Raptors their biggest lead at 106-98.
Toronto called timeout after Herro's driving layup cut it to 108-106 with 6.7 seconds to go, but Anunoby scored on Barnes' alley-oop inbounds pass.
Butler returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Monday's loss at Boston because of a sore toe, while P.J. Tucker was back after missing Monday's game because of left knee soreness.
Former Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (personal reasons) missed his ninth straight game. Tuesday would have been his first visit to Toronto since leaving the Raptors last offseason.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he has been talking with Lowry on a daily basis throughout his absence.
"He's part of our family," Spoelstra said. "I just want to be there for him. The basketball stuff, we can work all that out."
The Heat visit Toronto again on April 3.
Adebayo scored nine points in the first as the Heat led 32-22, then added 10 more in the second, twice converting alley-oop passes from Butler. Gabe Vincent banked in a 3 just before the halftime buzzer to put Miami up 62-50 at the intermission.
The Heat led 83-80 through three quarters.
CELEBRITY SPOTTING
Rapper Drake sat next to Raptors president Masai Ujuri in the empty stands behind Toronto's bench in the first half. Drake moved to his customary courtside seat adjacent to Toronto's bench for the second half.
FANS COME BACK
For the first time since a Dec. 28 loss to Philadelphia, the Raptors played before fans who weren't family and friends of the players. A small crowd of several hundred randomly selected season ticket holders watched from the stands opposite the benches.
TIP-INS
Heat: Tucker scored 12 points. … Butler shot 10 for 10 at the free throw line and finished with eight rebounds. … Lost on a Tuesday for the first time, falling to 4-1.
Raptors: Barnes and Achiuwa were picked to play in the Rising Stars Game at All-Star weekend in Cleveland. … C Khem Birch (broken nose) should return within a week, coach Nick Nurse said. .... DeRozan had five straight 30-point games for Toronto from Oct. 26 to Nov. 4, 2016.
UP NEXT
Heat: Visit San Antonio on Thursday.
Raptors: Host Chicago on Thursday.
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