{"id":706504,"date":"2026-04-09T09:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/706504\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:50:10","slug":"raptors-hope-to-tighten-hold-on-playoff-spot-with-sweep-of-heat-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/706504\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors hope to tighten hold on playoff spot with sweep of Heat – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Raptors aim to tighten their hold on a playoff spot Thursday night when they go for a sweep of the season series against the visiting Miami Heat.<\/p>\n

Toronto earned a 121-95 home victory Tuesday in the first of back-to-back games with the Heat.<\/p>\n

That left the Raptors (44-35) in the sixth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Heat (41-38) are locked into the play-in round.<\/p>\n

The Raptors lead the season series with the Heat 3-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the time of the year where we can show who we really are,\u201d said RJ Barrett, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. \u201cIt was a quality win, but like (Toronto guard Immanuel Quickley) said, we\u2019re looking at this like a playoff series. Winning Game 1 has nothing to do with Game 2. They\u2019re going to come out more energized and play even harder. So, we have to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Heat can finish no higher than seventh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were disappointed for sure that we weren\u2019t able to bring another level of competitive spirit to this,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s disappointing. We\u2019re not thinking about the next step right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami has been held under 100 points six times this season, three of them against the Raptors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a spirit,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cOur guys bounce back, but we have to rise to the level of the competition. That\u2019s the bottom line right now. We have these opportunities to meet our competition, and we come up short.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t play with enough effort, and that was the bottom line,\u201d said Heat center Bam Adebayo, who was held to seven points and nine rebounds. \u201cThe best thing about it is we got a chance to still punch our ticket somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raptors had a 70-34 advantage in points in the paint and a 23-6 edge in second-chance points.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did a great job keeping us out of the paint,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cWe had good looks from three, but you\u2019ve got to knock down some of those to keep them honest. Otherwise, they\u2019re going to keep on swarming the paint. They did a tremendous job of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Wiggins topped Miami with 24 points.<\/p>\n

Scottie Barnes recorded 25 points for Toronto, and Brandon Ingram scored 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really focused on what our (defensive) keys were,\u201d said Barnes, who also had eight rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot. \u201cWe wanted to just help each other guard the ball, and we did a great job of that and building out from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quickley played 17:35 and had three points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals for Toronto after being out eight games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper, super important minutes that he gave us tonight,\u201d Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. \u201cI think him playing also took a little bit of the load off Scottie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto reserve Jamal Shead recorded a game-high 11 assists in 23-plus minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought for the majority of the game we played with intensity that you need to play those types of games,\u201d Rajakovic said. \u201cWe still had empty minutes. We still had some breakdowns on the defensive end that we need to clean up and continue getting better. But, overall, the intensity and urgency were there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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