Heat never trail on the way to a 125-103 win over Raptors, keeping playoff hope going
MIAMI (AP) When the final whistle blows in Miami on Sunday, the Heat might be in the playoffs. They might also be back in the play-in tournament.
As long as they're clicking, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will like their chances.
Nikola Jovic scored 22 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 20 points and nine assists, and the Heat kept hope alive of escaping the play-in tournament by topping the Toronto Raptors 125-103 on Friday night.
Bam Adebayo scored 19 points, Tyler Herro scored 18, and Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love each scored 14 for the Heat (45-36). Miami still could get out of the play-in with a win in a rematch against the Raptors on Sunday and some help.
"I'm focused on my team. All I’m focused on (is) we can get to a place where we’re connected and playing for each other and playing a spirited game where it’s to our identity," Spoelstra said. "That’s all I care about right now, because when we get to that, we feel like we can beat anybody, anywhere, any time.”
It's the 14th time in Heat history that the team won 45 games in a season; all 13 of the previous squads made the playoffs.
RJ Barrett had 35 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the 18th time in their last 20 games. Immanuel Quickley scored 15 points, Bruce Brown scored 14 and Kelly Olynyk grabbed 11 rebounds for Toronto.
“They're a good team. They were moving the ball. Our first and second efforts were good, actually,” Barrett said. “They just kept going all the way into the shot clock and somehow would find an open 3.”
The Heat made 17 3s on Friday, and now will wait until Sunday to learn their playoff - or play-in - fate.
Orlando, Indiana, Philadelphia and Miami will finish No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 in the Eastern Conference, in some order. The Magic, Pacers and 76ers are all 46-35; the Heat are 45-36 going into Sunday's finales.
Before the Heat-Raptors game went final on Friday, there were other outcomes that affected Miami's playoff possibilities. Philadelphia won its seventh straight game by topping Orlando but remained seventh in the East. Indiana lost to Cleveland, a game that allowed the Cavaliers to clinch a top-four spot in the East.
The Heat never trailed, building an 11-point lead after one quarter and stretching it to 19 before settling on a 66-50 lead at the half. The lead eventually reached 25 and no Heat player logged more than 32 minutes.
“It matters ... being able to rest, really recoup, get extra treatment, extra recovery and still cheer on your team,” Adebayo said.
The loss ensured that Toronto (25-56) will finish the season with the fifth-worst mark in franchise history, regardless of what happens in its finale at Miami on Sunday.
It’ll be Toronto’s worst season since going 22-60 in 2010-11.
UP NEXT
The teams meet again Sunday in Miami to end the regular season.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Kelly Olynyk vs. Bam Adebayo (Tyler Herro gains possession) | ||
| 11:39 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point driving layup | 0-2 |
| 11:28 | | Bam Adebayo kicked ball violation | ||
| 11:16 |  | +2 | Gary Trent Jr. makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 2-2 |
| 11:04 | | Tyler Herro turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 10:54 | | Immanuel Quickley misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 10:51 | | Caleb Martin defensive rebound | ||
| 10:46 | | Nikola Jovic misses two point running layup | ||
| 10:44 | | Kelly Olynyk defensive rebound | ||
| 10:40 | | Gradey Dick misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:36 | | Bam Adebayo defensive rebound | ||
| 10:30 | | +2 | Nikola Jovic makes two point cutting layup (Bam Adebayo assists) | 2-4 |
| 10:10 | | Gary Trent Jr. turnover (traveling) | ||
| 9:52 | | +3 | Jimmy Butler makes three point jump shot (Caleb Martin assists) | 2-7 |
| 9:29 | | +2 | RJ Barrett makes two point driving finger roll layup (Kelly Olynyk assists) | 4-7 |
| 9:07 | | Nikola Jovic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:03 | | RJ Barrett defensive rebound | ||
| 8:57 | | Kelly Olynyk misses two point running layup | ||
| 8:56 | | Kelly Olynyk offensive rebound | ||
| 8:56 | | Bam Adebayo shooting foul (Kelly Olynyk draws the foul) | ||
| 8:56 | | +1 | Kelly Olynyk makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-7 |
| 8:56 | | +1 | Kelly Olynyk makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-7 |
| 8:52 | | Kelly Olynyk shooting foul (Bam Adebayo draws the foul) | ||
| 8:52 | | Bam Adebayo misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 8:52 | | Heat offensive rebound | ||
| 8:52 | | +1 | Bam Adebayo makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-8 |
| 8:38 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses two point driving layup | ||
| 8:35 | | Nikola Jovic defensive rebound | ||
| 8:19 | | +2 | Nikola Jovic makes two point driving finger roll layup (Tyler Herro assists) | 6-10 |
| 8:13 | | +2 | RJ Barrett makes two point driving finger roll layup (Immanuel Quickley assists) | 8-10 |
| 7:57 | | Tyler Herro misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:55 | | Immanuel Quickley defensive rebound | ||
| 7:52 | | +2 | Gradey Dick makes two point running dunk (Immanuel Quickley assists) | 10-10 |
| 7:37 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point cutting dunk (Jimmy Butler assists) | 10-12 |
| 7:24 | | Raptors 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:16 | | Tyler Herro personal foul (Gary Trent Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 7:01 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:59 | | Nikola Jovic defensive rebound | ||
| 6:49 | | +2 | Jimmy Butler makes two point driving floating jump shot (Bam Adebayo assists) | 10-14 |
| 6:38 | | +3 | Immanuel Quickley makes three point pullup jump shot | 13-14 |
| 6:19 | | Nikola Jovic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:16 | | Jimmy Butler offensive rebound | ||
| 6:10 | | Tyler Herro misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:09 | | Immanuel Quickley defensive rebound | ||
| 6:06 | | Immanuel Quickley turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 5:43 | | +3 | Tyler Herro makes three point pullup jump shot (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists) | 13-17 |
| 5:22 | | Gradey Dick misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:20 | | Bam Adebayo defensive rebound | ||
| 5:03 | | Nikola Jovic misses two point cutting layup | ||
| 5:01 | | Nikola Jovic offensive rebound | ||
| 4:59 | | +2 | Nikola Jovic makes two point putback layup | 13-19 |
| 4:48 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:47 | | Raptors offensive rebound | ||
| 4:47 | | Nikola Jovic personal foul (Loose ball) (Kelly Olynyk draws the foul) | ||
| 4:35 | | Caleb Martin shooting foul (Immanuel Quickley draws the foul) | ||
| 4:35 | | +1 | Immanuel Quickley makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-19 |
| 4:35 | | +1 | Immanuel Quickley makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-19 |
| 4:17 | | +3 | Nikola Jovic makes three point jump shot (Tyler Herro assists) | 15-22 |
| 4:11 | | Raptors 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:51 | | +2 | Bruce Brown makes two point driving floating jump shot (Gary Trent Jr. assists) | 17-22 |
| 3:40 | | Bruce Brown personal foul (Nikola Jovic draws the foul) | ||
| 3:28 | | Kevin Love misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:25 | | Malik Williams defensive rebound | ||
| 3:14 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 3:11 | | Kevin Love defensive rebound | ||
| 2:55 | | +2 | Kevin Love makes two point reverse layup (Tyler Herro assists) | 17-24 |
| 2:32 | | +2 | Bruce Brown makes two point driving finger roll layup | 19-24 |
| 2:18 | | +3 | Tyler Herro makes three point jump shot (Nikola Jovic assists) | 19-27 |
| 1:57 | | Malik Williams misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 1:54 | | Tyler Herro defensive rebound | ||
| 1:38 | | Nikola Jovic misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:36 | | Gary Trent Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 1:28 | | Javon Freeman-Liberty misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:22 | | Kevin Love defensive rebound | ||
| 1:17 | | Gary Trent Jr. personal foul (Jaime Jaquez Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 1:10 | | Javon Freeman-Liberty personal foul (Jimmy Butler draws the foul) | ||
| 1:10 | | +1 | Jimmy Butler makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 19-28 |
| 1:10 | | +1 | Jimmy Butler makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 19-29 |
| 0:50 | | Bruce Brown turnover (out of bounds step) | ||
| 0:35 | | +2 | Haywood Highsmith makes two point pullup jump shot (Jimmy Butler assists) | 19-31 |
| 0:31 | | +2 | RJ Barrett makes two point driving floating jump shot | 21-31 |
| 0:31 | | Delon Wright shooting foul (RJ Barrett draws the foul) | ||
| 0:31 | | +1 | RJ Barrett makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 22-31 |
| 0:22 | | Malik Williams personal foul (Kevin Love draws the foul) | ||
| 0:22 | | +1 | Kevin Love makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-32 |
| 0:22 | | +1 | Kevin Love makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-33 |
| 0:05 | | Javon Freeman-Liberty misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:04 | | Kevin Love defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | | End of period | ||
| 11:46 | | +2 | Javon Freeman-Liberty makes two point driving finger roll layup (Bruce Brown assists) | 24-33 |
| 11:28 | | Kevin Love misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:24 | | Bruce Brown defensive rebound | ||
| 11:21 | | Haywood Highsmith shooting foul (Bruce Brown draws the foul) | ||
| 11:21 | | +1 | Bruce Brown makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-33 |
| 11:21 | | +1 | Bruce Brown makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-33 |
| 11:10 | | +2 | Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes two point driving bank jump shot (Jimmy Butler assists) | 26-35 |
| 10:59 | | +2 | RJ Barrett makes two point driving finger roll layup | 28-35 |
| 10:45 | | +3 | Kevin Love makes three point jump shot (Jimmy Butler assists) | 28-38 |
| 10:31 | | Javon Freeman-Liberty misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 10:31 | | Kevin Love defensive rebound | ||
| 10:25 | | Kevin Love misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:23 | | Heat offensive rebound | ||
| 10:23 | | RJ Barrett personal foul (Loose ball) (Jimmy Butler draws the foul) | ||
| 10:09 | | Heat turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 9:55 | | +3 | Bruce Brown makes three point jump shot (RJ Barrett assists) | 31-38 |
| 9:29 | | Kevin Love misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:28 | | Heat offensive rebound | ||
| 9:28 | | Heat turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 9:07 | | Gradey Dick misses two point cutting finger roll layup | ||
| 9:06 | | Malik Williams offensive rebound | ||
| 9:02 | | RJ Barrett misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:59 | | Heat defensive rebound | ||
| 8:46 | | +2 | Jimmy Butler makes two point turnaround jump shot (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists) | 31-40 |
| 8:27 | | +3 | Bruce Brown makes three point jump shot (Javon Freeman-Liberty assists) | 34-40 |
| 8:11 | | +3 | Haywood Highsmith makes three point stepback jump shot (Delon Wright assists) | 34-43 |
| 7:54 | | RJ Barrett turnover (bad pass) (Jaime Jaquez Jr. steals) | ||
| 7:54 | | RJ Barrett personal foul (Jaime Jaquez Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 7:41 | | +2 | Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes two point driving layup | 34-45 |
| 7:28 | | Immanuel Quickley turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 7:10 | | Haywood Highsmith misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:05 | | RJ Barrett defensive rebound | ||
| 6:51 | | +2 | Immanuel Quickley makes two point floating jump shot | 36-45 |
| 6:39 | | +3 | Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes three point jump shot (Jimmy Butler assists) | 36-48 |
| 6:17 | | RJ Barrett turnover (bad pass) (Delon Wright steals) | ||
| 6:12 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists) | 36-50 |
| 6:12 | | Raptors 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:06 | | Haywood Highsmith shooting foul (Immanuel Quickley draws the foul) | ||
| 6:06 | | +1 | Immanuel Quickley makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 37-50 |
| 6:06 | | +1 | Immanuel Quickley makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 38-50 |
| 5:55 | | Immanuel Quickley personal foul (Caleb Martin draws the foul) | ||
| 5:49 | | Bam Adebayo misses two point jump shot | ||
| 5:46 | | Kelly Olynyk defensive rebound | ||
| 5:31 | | +2 | Kelly Olynyk makes two point jump shot (Ochai Agbaji assists) | 40-50 |
| 5:12 | | Tyler Herro misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 5:11 | | Bam Adebayo offensive rebound | ||
| 5:10 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point tip layup | 40-52 |
| 4:49 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 4:47 | | Bam Adebayo defensive rebound | ||
| 4:38 | | Immanuel Quickley personal foul (Haywood Highsmith draws the foul) | ||
| 4:32 | | Gary Trent Jr. personal foul (Tyler Herro draws the foul) | ||
| 4:32 | | +1 | Tyler Herro makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 40-53 |
| 4:32 | | +1 | Tyler Herro makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 40-54 |
| 4:14 | | Ochai Agbaji misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 4:11 | | Caleb Martin defensive rebound | ||
| 3:55 | | +3 | Caleb Martin makes three point jump shot (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists) | 40-57 |
| 3:40 | | Kelly Olynyk turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 3:29 | | Tyler Herro misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:26 | | RJ Barrett defensive rebound | ||
| 3:18 | | RJ Barrett misses two point driving layup | ||
| 3:17 | | Kelly Olynyk offensive rebound | ||
| 3:16 | | +2 | Kelly Olynyk makes two point tip layup | 42-57 |
| 3:00 | | Jaime Jaquez Jr. misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 2:59 | | Kelly Olynyk defensive rebound | ||
| 2:49 | | Immanuel Quickley misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:46 | | Jaime Jaquez Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 2:41 | | +3 | Bam Adebayo makes three point jump shot (Jaime Jaquez Jr. assists) | 42-60 |
| 2:29 | | Jaime Jaquez Jr. blocks Immanuel Quickley's two point driving layup | ||
| 2:25 | | Jaime Jaquez Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 2:15 | | Caleb Martin misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:12 | | Kelly Olynyk defensive rebound | ||
| 2:03 | | Kelly Olynyk turnover (bad pass) (Caleb Martin steals) | ||
| 1:54 | | Nikola Jovic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:51 | | Gradey Dick defensive rebound | ||
| 1:44 | | Tyler Herro shooting foul (RJ Barrett draws the foul) | ||
| 1:44 | | Heat 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:44 | | RJ Barrett misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 1:44 | | Raptors offensive rebound | ||
| 1:44 | | +1 | RJ Barrett makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 43-60 |
| 1:29 | | +2 | Nikola Jovic makes two point cutting layup (Bam Adebayo assists) | 43-62 |
| 1:11 | | +2 | RJ Barrett makes two point reverse layup (Kelly Olynyk assists) | 45-62 |
| 0:50 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point cutting dunk (Caleb Martin assists) | 45-64 |
| 0:38 | | +3 | Gradey Dick makes three point jump shot (RJ Barrett assists) | 48-64 |
| 0:21 | | +2 | Nikola Jovic makes two point cutting layup (Jimmy Butler assists) | 48-66 |
| 0:00 | | +2 | RJ Barrett makes two point driving hook shot (Immanuel Quickley assists) | 50-66 |
| 0:00 | | End of period |