The Miami Heat (5-4) rolled into Toronto for an afternoon matinee with the Raptors (4-4). The Raps, who had lost 2 straight and 4 of their last 5 games since starting 3-0, came into today’s game well rested having not played since Wednesday’s loss to the 76er’s 106-96. They welcomed in Dwayne Wade who is the league’s second leading scorer averaging 27.8 ppg. The Raps were short-handed for this game, as they were without the services of Jose Calderon, who injured his hamstring against the 76er’s, was replaced by Will Solomon. This game also displayed the return of Andrea Bargnani back into the starting lineup, taking the place Jamario Moon at the 3 spot.

The 1st quarter saw a back and forth battle between the two teams as they exchanged baskets for most of the quarter, leading to a Raptors lead at the break of 29-27. The insertion of Bargnani paid off dividends early, as he went 4-6 for the quarter for 8 pts and 2 rebs, slashing to the basket with reckless abandon and making Miami pay for over-guarding Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal. Solomon also had a great start, tossing 6 asts (1 to) and 5 pts. The Raps shot 50% and netted 13 rebs while the Heat shot 52% and had 7 rebs.

In the 2nd quarter saw much the same, both teams exchanging the lead and baskets, until the Heat started to make a push. JO was on the bench with 3 first half fouls and the Heat went on a 10-2 run to lead 54-48, and finished leading at the half 54-50.

The Raps came out of the break to start the 3rd quarter on a 10-2 run to take the lead 60-56, but the basket-trading affair continued through to the end of the quarter and the Raps led going into the 4th 80-78. There were after 3 frames 19 ties and 22 lead changes. The Raps shot 49% with 39 rebs, 25 asts and 14 to compared to the Heat who shot 45% with 23 rebs, 18 ast, and 7 to. This was as close as the Heat came to the Raps.

The Raps started the 4th on a 6-0 run, leading to a 13-2 run overall to move ahead 90-80 with 9 minutes to play. The big play in the Raps run was a big block by JO, which led to a fast-break, with Jason Kapono spotting-up for a 3 pointer to electrify the crowd. The Heat made a late run, getting as close as 98-93, but Bish made a big dunk, then Parker stole the ball from Wade leading to a JO bucket (and 1). The Heat shot 27% for the 4th quarter and 40% for the game. Wade led all scorers, netting 29 pts and 8 asts and Udonis Haslem had  10 pts and 10 rebs. The Raps were led by Bosh, who scored 27 pts and had 7 rebs. 7 Raptors scored in double figures (Bosh 27, Bargnani 12, JO 11{and 18 rebs}, Solomon 15, Kaps 10, Humphries 14)

POG:

Toronto- Chris Bosh, who scored 27 pts on 7-15 shooting and was 13-15 from the charity strip. He also grabbed 7 rebs, 1 ast and 2 blks

Miami- Dwayne Wade was everywhere, scoring 29 pts on 13-31 shooting, he also had 3 rebs, 8 asts, 4 steals and 2 blks.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): In such a great display of offensive diversity on this game, the only Raptor that you could give it to was Roko Ukic. He was 0-3 for 0 pts, but he dished out 4 asts and only turned it over 1 time while playing 14 minutes. He also had 2 rebs. I can live with 0 pts from him when the team scores like this, but we need him to produce if Calderon is out for any length.

Coaches Corner: His decision to start Bargnani was much needed. Bargs has been playing great as of late, on both offense and defence, and showed today much of his hidden talent. Let’s hope that he can keep this up. I love the idea of playing 3 bigs and forcing the other team to match-up to the Raps.

Need to Work On: The Raps need to take better care of the ball. Their D was great today and dynamite down the stretch, but they turned it over too many times, 20 to be exact, and that led to 24 Miami pts.

Surprise of the Night: So many to choose from. I will pick the emergence of Solomon at the starting position and having a great performance. 15 pts on 5-9 shooting (2-5 from 3), to go with 11 asts, 4 rebs and a steal, but 4 to.

Report Card:

Offense: A+ (They were too much for Miami all game and they were able to diversify their output. They made big shots, but the mroe impressive thing was their driving ability and the constant attack on the basket.)

Defense: A (Down the stretch they shut down Wade and the Heat to preserve the win on home court. They kept the Heat tp 40% for the game and only 27% in the 4th. They also had 51 rebs to the Heats 35.

Coach: A (He really didn’t do anything overly wrong or noticeable. The decision to start Bargnani amd limit Moon and Parker to just 9 shots total (5-9) helps this team immensely, as the shots are now taken by better shooters.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm: Do you Still think we should trade Bargnani away after today. I am starting to really like this guy, he has been playing fantastic. The bigs on the team are doing great offensively (17-451 for 50 pts today), and it looks like the x-factor to games now for the Raps is how well the guards play.

Reporting from my armchair at the end of the bench, this is the Hollywood Gino, waitin’ for the coach to point my way.

Game Pictures:

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