The Miami Heat are on the road to face the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre, on Tuesday night.
It’s game night for Miami Heat Basketball.
The Miami Heat (30-26) are coming off of a 91-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday; a victory that put an end to a five-game losing streak. The win also marked Dwyane Wade making his return to the Heat, finishing the night with three points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
However, Tyler Johnson was the one who led the Heat to victory, recording 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Josh Richardson pitched in with 16 points and two rebounds, and rookie Bam Adebayo finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
For the Toronto Raptors (39-16), they’re coming off of an 123-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets. DeMar DeRozan led the way for Toronto with 25 points, eight assists and two rebounds, C.J. Miles notched 24 points and two steals, and Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
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This will be the second game of the three-game season series between the Heat and Raptors, with the Heat winning the first meeting 90-89, on January 5 in Toronto. The third and final game will happen April 11 at AmericanAirlines Arena, which happens to be the Heat’s final game of the regular season.
In the last matchup between the Heat and Raptors, we saw a couple of heated clashes, the first of which included Serge Ibaka and James Johnson. The two were ejected from the game and both were later suspended for one game for fighting. The second confrontation came after the final buzzer had sounded and it involved DeRozan and Goran Dragic; the two exchanged words (and shoves) and we’re separated, both receiving fines from the NBA.
With that being said, you can clearly expect to see these two teams come out of the gates aggressively.
This game is the first of a back-to-back set for the Heat, that concludes in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The NBA All-Star break will then follow.
The Heat will be without the services of Kelly Olynyk (shoulder), Dion Waiters (ankle), and Rodney McGruder (leg). While Dion Waiters is out for the rest of the season, Heat fans can expect Kelly Olynyk and Rodney McGruder to return sometime after the break.
The Raptors’ OG Anunoby (ankle) is questionable for the contest.
Facing off against a Toronto Raptors team that is currently first in the Eastern Conference and has won seven of their last eight games, is no easy task for the Miami Heat. But if the Heat manage to set the tone defensively and shoot a decent percentage from the field, they should be able to compete and make this game interesting.
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Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM ET.