Miami, FL (Worldwide Gamble) - LeBron James had a game-high 30 points to go with
nine rebounds as the Miami Heat outlasted the Toronto Raptors 95-89 at
American Airlines Arena on Sunday.
The Big Three accounted for 67 of the team's 95 points as Dwyane Wade scored
25 points and Chris Bosh added 12 points and eight boards for the Miami Heat,
who have won two straight and seven of their last eight.
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points to lead the Raptors, and Linas Kleiza and
Jerryd Bayless netted 17 points apiece as Toronto has now lost three of its
last four games.
Mario Chalmers knocked down back-to-back treys and James added a tough
fadeaway jumper at the backend of an 18-3 run for the Heat, who began to pull
away leading 73-57 with 3:27 to go in the third.
The Heat finished the quarter with a 75-62 lead going into the final quarter.
The Raptors, however, got back-to-back three-pointers from Kleiza and then
Bayless to cut the Heat lead to 85-80 with 4:03 to go in the contest.
Toronto got as close as three with 2 1/2 minutes to go, but the Heat
went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to keep the visiting
Raptors at bay.
Two James' free throws capped a 10-2 run for the Heat as they finished the
opening quarter 11-of-16 from the field to take a 31-27 lead heading into the
second stanza.
DeRozan led the way with 16 first-half points for the Raptors, who trailed
53-48 at the break.
Game Notes
Toronto heads to Washington for the second game of a back-to-back on Monday
while the Heat host James' former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on
Tuesday...Toronto's DeRozan tied Vince Carter for the third-longest streak of
consecutive starts for the Raptors. DeRozan has started 107 straight games
dating back to the start of last season. Carter started 107 games from
1998-2001...Miami is now 11-2 at home.
