Toronto — Raptors Dominate the Paint & the Heat in 106-92 Home Win
The weather wasn’t that bad in Toronto today. The sun was shining and the Heat were in town. The Raptors however were ice cold. Going 1-16 in the first half from the three point line and still holding on to a 6 point lead.
The Raptors got some Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby who had 26 and 22 points respectively. Scottie Barnes also had 22 points and a career high 12 assists. The biggest piece however was the Raptors dominance in the paint. The slow three point shooting start didn’t get much better. Finishing the game at 22% (8 of 36). Who do yoi shoot so poorly and have a double digit lead for most of the second half? The answer is by shooting 65% from everywhere else and out scoring your opponent 62-36 in the paint.
The Raptors improved to .500 on the season and moved in to the eighth seed in the east and just two and a half games behind the Nets for sixth. That goal seemed like a moon shot not that long ago but now seems like a realistic one.
Fluent Finale: The Heat were without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, who was out with a sore neck. Miami fell to 15-22 on the road for the season. Toronto not only dominated the paint on this night, they also outscored the Heat on the fast break 23-10. With the win, the Raptors move to 8-0 when holding teams under 100 points.
Now you’re more fluent!