Raptors Final Score: Heat Down Raptors 100 to 85 Despite 56 from Gay and DeRozan

Well.

At least this one didn't get lost in OT, or the final five minutes.

The Miami Heat won a 100 to 85 decision over the Toronto Raptors despite the Dinos getting 56 points from DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay.

The Heat's "big 3" in fact went one better with three 20+ point scorers as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 81 of the team's 100.

We Can Blame This Loss On...

...playing a more talented team for starters, something that really showed late in the game. Despite shooting under 40 per cent from the field, the Raps were within a couple of points with minutes to go, but the Heat stepped up the D, Toronto made some questionable offensive decisions, and at the other end, Bosh and James nailed huge shots shutting the door for good on the Raps.

As well, turnovers (15, nine in the second half), bench play and offensive execution weren't great. Toronto ended this one shooting only 37 per cent while Miami hit 53.

MVP:

DeMar DeRozan. He was only 6 of 17 from the field but he made up for that by getting to the line 14 times, hitting all 14 shots. He chipped in three rebounds and three assists and was hands down the team's catalyst.

LVP:

Kyle Lowry. Alan Anderson's 1 for 7 performance in 33 minutes was close, but Anderson wasn't supposed to be a go-to option for Toronto in close games.

Lowry is.

However he only took seven shots, only hit three of those, and attempted only four free-throws too. With Jose gone, the expectation offensively from Lowry is obviously a lot more than this.

Worse though was his decision-making late, not looking like much of a floor general and in total, notching only three assists to five turnovers.

Comment of the game:

From hotfuzz:

God damn! I knew it was bad but it didn't realize that LBJ was this bald.

Solid.

Matt and Jack Classics:

Too many to count considering for the past two games, both have sounded like they're reading right off MLSE speaking notes. One of my faves though was Matt noting that the major work had been done in terms of talent, and now there was only "tweaking" remaining.

Right.

Pretty sure that applies to you know, teams that aren't 14 games under .500.

Ok that's it for now, but as always, hit up the opposing team's blog, in this case, Hot Hot Hoops.com, for their side of the story.

We'll have a full breakdown and further thoughts on this one in the AM.

Enjoy the Superbowl all!