Barnes, Adebayo go off, Raps fall to Heat to complete trip

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After a rare road win in New Orleans, the Raptors found themselves back in the losing column on the road, largely thanks to a poor third quarter in Miami.

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Leading 61-58 at halftime in a back-and-forth battle, Toronto was stifled by an active Miami defense that often entered a zone against the flustered visitors and fell 121-111 in a game in which two players scored triple – doubles.

Scottie Barnes had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Raptors, while Bam Adebayo had 14, 10 and 10. Jimmy Butler added 26 for the Heat, RJ Barrett 25 and Jakob Poeltl 24 for the Raptors.

A 19-7 Heat run turned things around and gave Miami a 12-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were a big problem for the Raptors, with Miami turning 19 Toronto miscues into 27 points.

Toronto and Miami games are often ugly affairs, but there was plenty of offense in this one, with the Raptors shooting 53.8% from the field and the Heat hitting 21 three-pointers to make up for the shooting spree.

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Toronto dropped to 5-15, including 1-11 on the road, while Miami improved to 9-9.

Things looked good for the visitors early though, with Miami launching an incredible 17 three-pointers in the first quarter, but only making two of them.

But the Raptors still trailed by a point despite those numbers. And when the inevitable happened – Miami struck – the pressure was on. Miami buried 5-of-10 three-pointers in the second quarter and trailed by three.

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Sophomore Jaime Jacquez took over in the third with eight of his 15 points as Toronto started the quarter just 1-for-10 from three-point range. The Heat closed the quarter on a 19-7 run to take full control of the game with a 96-84 lead.

Toronto got no closer than within seven the rest of the way.

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Barnes had his sixth triple-double and passed Pascal Siakam for second on the Raptors’ all-time list behind Kyle Lowry’s 16.

The contest concluded a four-game Raptors road trip and also kicked off a home-and-home set with the Heat. Miami is at Toronto for an early tip-off on Sunday. There is a chance Raptors wing Bruce Brown could make his season debut in that game after the team initially hoped he would play on the trip. With Brown and sophomore Gradey Dick still out, along with starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, rookie Ja’Kobe Walter made his second straight start and scored six points. Toronto was also again without veteran big man and ex-Miami player Kelly Olynyk.

@WolstatSun

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