Raptors-Heat Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Apr 18 2012 11:50AM

Despite the constant uncertainty surrounding Dwyane Wade's health, LeBron James has helped the Miami Heat remain in contention for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat haven't had much trouble with the Toronto Raptors in recent seasons no matter who has been in the lineup, but if they want to earn an eighth straight victory in this series, they'll have to do it without Wade, Chris Bosh and Ronny Turiaf on Wednesday night in Miami.

Miami (43-17) pulled to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Chicago with a 101-98 come-from-behind victory over New Jersey on Monday, with James scoring his team's final 17 points.

Wade sat out for the fourth time in nine contests due to a nagging ankle injury, but the Heat improved to 12-1 without him this season. The star guard will be out again Wednesday, having been sidelined this season by a variety of injuries and more recently because of what the Heat are calling a "maintenance" program heading into postseason.

Bosh will sit out for the fourth time, while Turiaf has been dealing with a sore hamstring for about a week.

James' hoop with 51 seconds remaining Monday gave Miami its first lead and he finished with 37 points, hearing chants of "MVP!" from the visiting crowd.

"No. 6, he was pretty good going down the stretch," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He was sensational. Obviously, he made every big play offensively. That's what an MVP does and we needed it at both ends. But also on a night like this, you can come up with a lot of excuses to not bring that type of performance, but that's not the type of DNA he has inside of him."

The Heat face the Bulls on Thursday, but James is confident that Miami won't be looking ahead.

"We want to win every last game to close it out," he said. "We don't want to lose again the rest of the season. Ultimately we can to continue to get better."

James scored a career-high 56 points against Toronto on March 20, 2005, in a loss while playing for Cleveland. In two home games versus the Raptors since joining Miami, he's averaged 34.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.

He had 30 points in a 95-89 home win over the Raptors on Feb. 5 before scoring 26 with nine assists in a 113-101 victory in Toronto on March 30.

The Raptors haven't beaten the Heat since a 111-103 victory Jan. 27, 2010 - when Bosh had 24 points and 18 rebounds for Toronto.

Bosh scored 30 points last month against the Raptors, losers of five of seven after a 109-87 defeat to Atlanta on Monday.

Toronto (22-40) beat the Hawks 102-86 on Sunday despite being without four players, but couldn't sweep the home-and-home series while again playing without a good chunk of their lineup.

Andrea Bargnani has missed the last five contests and Jose Calderon has been out the last three. Calderon (swollen right eye) traveled to Miami and is day to day.

DeMar DeRozan has averaged 22.3 points over his last three games, one of which was an 84-79 victory over Boston on Friday.

"It just shows that we can play with anybody," DeRozan said of the two wins over playoff teams in the last three games. "Even if we're down a man or two, we've got the ability to play with anybody in this league."

DeRozan has averaged 25.0 points in his last five games versus Miami, scoring 28 in the most recent matchup.

The Heat have won five straight and 10 of 13 over the Raptors at AmericanAirlines Arena.

James gets 28, Heat roll past Raptors 96-72

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Apr 19 2012 2:12AM

MIAMI (AP) LeBron James wants some rest. He also wants to play.

For now, the desire to play seems to be stronger. And his MVP candidacy may be a beneficiary of that decision.

James scored 28 points before taking the fourth quarter off, Mike Miller added 13 points and the Miami Heat continued tuning up for the postseason by pulling away in the second half to beat the Toronto Raptors 96-72 on Wednesday night.

The Raptors tied a franchise-worst with 23 points in the second half - matching what they managed in a first half against Washington in 2003 - and Toronto coach Dwane Casey lauded Miami afterward.

"They play the right way," Casey said. "They have the star power to do it. My hat's off to Miami. They're a great team. I'm going to enjoy watching them. I hope my guys were watching and learning and that they learned from tonight and how fast and how physical the game is for 48 minutes. Not 24 minutes - 48 minutes."

James made 12 of his 15 shots for Miami, which also got 10 points from Udonis Haslem. The Heat - who can now finish no worse than No. 2 in the Eastern Conference - played without Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, both given the night off for what Miami calls "maintenance" of some nagging aches and pains.

James Johnson scored 18 points, Alan Anderson added 15 and DeMar DeRozan had 12 for Toronto, which fell for the sixth time in eight games.

"First half we brought the fight to them, let them know they were in a basketball game," Johnson said. "In the second half, different story. They came out and brought the fight to us and they brought it good."

Up next for Miami: A showdown at home against Chicago on Thursday night. The Bulls (47-15) hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Heat (44-17) in the East standings.

"I know the guys will be looking forward to it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We have a very competitive group."

Toronto led by as many as seven in the first half, then lost the lead after Miami outscored the Raptors 19-10 over the final 5:19 heading into the break.

The last two of those Miami points were by far the most impressive.

As the Heat were trying to get what likely would have been the last quality shot of the half, Johnson stole the ball from Mario Chalmers, and Gary Forbes' layup dropped through the net with 2.5 seconds left in the half to tie the game at 49-all.

Plenty of time for Miami.

Miller grabbed the ball as it fell through the net and went into a three-step drop, much like a quarterback, and threw about a 70-foot pass intended for James - whose high school wide-receiver skills came in handy. James reached high with his right arm to make a one-handed catch near the 3-point line, whirled around to find both James Johnson and Amir Johnson in his path, dribbled once and laid the ball in just before the halftime horn sounded.

By the time the shot went in, the Heat bench was already standing in celebration. Wade did a little dance before slapping hands with James, and the Heat skipped into the locker room up 51-49.

"It was a great pass, first of all," James said. "I was able to just go up and get it. I looked at the opposite clock ... and I knew I had enough time."

James said before the game that he'd like to get a game or two off before the playoffs start, if the race for seeding permits.

The Raptors wouldn't have minded Wednesday being one of those games. But James isn't complaining that he was out there playing.

"It's just how I am," said James, who entered Wednesday having played the sixth-most minutes in the league this month, the fifth-most in the league for the entire season. "When I go on the floor, if I'm in uniform, I'm trying to play at the highest level. If I'm in uniform, I don't try to take minutes off or take games off when I can. ... I just want to be the best."

If nothing else, those with MVP votes are seeing plenty from James, who has already won that award twice and is considered one of the frontrunners for the trophy this year, along with Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant. James said it's humbling to be in that conversation, but also knows things like scoring Miami's final 17 points to save the Heat from what would have been an embarrassing loss at New Jersey on Monday certainly could generate some voter attention.

"It would mean a lot," James said when asked what MVP No. 3 would mean. "Honestly, it would mean a lot."

James made his first three shots of the third quarter - making him 10 for 11, having converted nine straight to that point - with the last of those being a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to make it 62-53. Miami outscored Toronto 23-11 in the third, and James found Juwan Howard for a basket late in the quarter that gave the Heat what was then their biggest lead at 74-58, a play the two-time MVP celebrated by punching the air at midcourt.

Soon afterward, he took a seat on the bench for the rest of the evening. Tip-off against Chicago on Thursday was a mere 22 1/2 hours away.

NOTES: Toronto's 23 points in the second half were the fewest allowed in any half by the Heat this season. Miami's previous one-half defensive best was 30 in the first half at Philadelphia on March 16. ... Heat C Eddy Curry checked in with 3:30 left, and got a dunk 11 seconds later that got virtually everyone on the Heat bench to their feet. ... James appeared to tweak his ankle on a photographer in the first quarter, shortly before he aggravated a finger injury that's been bothering him for a few weeks. ... Toronto C Jamaal Magloire, a former Heat locker-room favorite, said before the game that he plans on playing again next season.

Notebook: Heat 96, Raptors 72

Posted Wednesday April 18, 2012 10:47PM

By Shandel Richardson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: It was like LeBron James was in Cleveland all over again.

With no Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, James was once again the lone superstar. As he did so many years in Cleveland, James led his team to a 96-72 victory against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat clinched at the least the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

James finished with a game-high 28 points in 30 minutes, more than making up for the absence of Wade and Bosh. Neither of the players have injuries, but simply part of coach Erik Spoelstra's plan to rest some players during his "maintenance program."

The night off was especially beneficial with the Heat gearing up for their final game against the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls Thursday. A victory is vital for Miami if it has any chance of catching the Bulls for the top seed in the playoffs.

Forward James Johnson led the Raptors with 18 points.

QUOTABLE: "It's going to be a real good game. Both teams are still trying to continue to get better. Both teams have some of the same aspirations and that's trying to hold up that trophy at the end of June. We'll see what happens (Thursday), but it doesn't stop the process from us trying to get better each and every game."
-- James said on looking forward to the Chicago game.

THE STAT: The Heat were a sizzling 10 of 16 from the field in the decisive third quarter.

TURNING POINT: The Heat trailed most of the first half before grabbing the lead on James' layup just before the halftime buzzer. Miami then took control when James scored 12 points in the third quarter, pushing the lead to double-digits.

QUOTABLE II: "I am enjoying watching and learning from (the Heat). I hope our guys are watching and learning as well, and that they learn from tonight how physical and fast the game is for 48 minutes."
-- Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

HOT: James scored from all over the court, hitting 12 of 15 from the field. It was the second straight game he led a Heat team that wasn't at full strength. James also had five rebounds and four assists and received some sort of rest when he was pulled midway through the final quarter.

NOT: The Raptors struggled at the 3-point line, finishing 1 of 16 from the arc. Forward Alan Anderson shot 0 for 8 and reserve Gary Forbes missed all four of his attempts.

GOOD MOVE: Credit Spoelstra for finding ways to get players rested. Wade has been banged up most of the year, and should be healthy for the postseason. This is especially important during a lockout-shortened season that crammed 66 games in just a little more than four months.

BAD MOVE: After gaining confidence with a solid first half, the Raptors let it all go to waste in the third quarter. They shot just 33 percent in the quarter, were outscored 23-11 and allowed James to dominate.

NOTABLE: The Heat improved to 13-1 in games without Wade. Center Ronny Turiaf did not play because of a hamstring injury, but it does not appear serious. Swingman James Jones made his eighth start of the season, replacing Wade. The Raptors remained without Jose Calderon, who did not play because of an eye injury.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Thursday vs. Chicago, Saturday vs. Washington, Sunday vs. Houston. For the Raptors, Sunday @ Detroit, Monday @ Milwaukee, Thursday vs. New Jersey.

• Raptors: Bargnani, Bayless
• Heat: Bosh, Turiaf

• Raptors: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #73 Tre Maddox, #20 Leroy Richardson
• Attendance: 19600
• Duration: 2:07