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News » Raptors-Heat Preview


Raptors-Heat Preview


Raptors-Heat Preview
Despite suffering a sprained ankle over the weekend, Dwyane Wade was healthy enough to lead the Miami Heat to a rare road win in their last game.

To beat the Toronto Raptors at home - and cool off Chris Bosh - Wade might need to be at full strength.

Wade and the Heat look to avoid a sixth straight loss to the Bosh and the Raptors on Wednesday night in their second meeting this week.

Wade rolled his ankle in Miami's 107-96 loss to Toronto (5-5) on Sunday, but he played in a 94-87 win over Washington on Tuesday, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds as the Heat (6-5) improved to 2-4 on the road.

Wade was 6-of-16 from the field, matching his season-low for points. But he was helped out as five teammates scored in double figures, including rookie Mario Chalmers, who had three 3-pointers and finished with 15.

"We would love to have a game like this where everybody is in double figures all across the board," said Wade, who's averaging 27.1 points this season. "That means a great team."

The Heat return home, looking to improve their 4-1 record in Miami. They have held opponents to just 87.0 points at home compared to 99.5 on the road.

Miami first-year coach Erik Spoelstra was pleased with the defensive effort against Toronto.

"What I liked the most was we went six straight minutes in the fourth quarter without a field goal," he said. "We went through a drought, and that's happened to us on the road, but somehow we were able to find a way to dig out some possessions defensively to be able to secure the win."

Miami is hoping to continue that defensive domination against the Raptors. The Heat lost both home games against Toronto last season by an average of 28.5 points. Before that, Miami had won five in a row there against the Raptors by an average of 10.6 points.

One of the Heat's toughest tasks on Wednesday will be containing Bosh, who scored a season-high 40 in Toronto's 103-90 loss to Orlando on Tuesday. Bosh is averaging 26.6 points in 2008-09, and 32.3 in the last three games.

"The way he's playing words can't describe, and it's not just scoring and rebounding," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "He's doing all the little things."

Despite Bosh going 14-of-19 from the field and adding 18 rebounds, four assists and two steals, Toronto struggled on offense late against the Magic. The Raptors were shooting 59 percent midway through the second half, but finished shooting just 43.8 percent for the game. They also committed a season-high 24 turnovers after making 20 against the Heat.

The Raptors averaged the second-fewest turnovers last season (11.7), but has seen that figure rise to 15.2 this season.

"You've just got to take care of the ball," Bosh said. "That's what we've thrived on in the past couple of years. That's what keeps us in games."

Bosh had 27 points to lead seven Toronto players in double figures in Sunday's win over the Heat. Wade scored 29.


Author: Fox Sports
Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com
Added: November 19, 2008

 

 
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