National Basketball Association
Miami 84, Toronto 76
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 2, 2020
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials: #11 Derrick Collins, #42 Eric Lewis, #9 Natalie Sago
Attendance: 19939

Rookie Tyler Herro scored 11 straight second-half points as the Miami Heat continued their hot streak at home, defeating the Toronto Raptors 84-76 on Thursday night.

Miami has the best home record in the NBA at 16-1.

However, the game between two of the top Eastern Conference's teams was marked by intense defense and inaccurate shooting.

Toronto shot a season-low 31.5 percent, including 6 of 42 on 3-pointers (14.3 percent).

Miami shot just 40.7 percent, including 12 of 37 on 3-pointers (32.4 percent).

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Herro and Goran Dragic had 13 points each.

Jimmy Butler, who is Miami's biggest star, missed eight of 10 shots from the field, but he contributed 12 rebounds, eight points and seven assists.

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, who on Thursday was named the Eastern Conference's Rookie of the Month, added seven points and nine assists. He is the first undrafted player to win that award multiple times, having also claimed it in November.

Toronto was led by Serge Ibaka (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Kyle Lowry (15 points, eight assists).

But the Raptors were missing three starters: center Marc Gasol (left hamstring), forward Pascal Siakam (groin) and shooting guard Norman Powell (left shoulder). All three were injured in a Dec. 18 win at the Detroit Pistons.

The Heat were missing point forward Justise Winslow (back).

Miami led for all but the final 84 seconds in the first quarter, when Toronto surged for a 20-18 advantage.

There were three lead changes in the second quarter before Miami seized control and went into halftime with a 42-39 lead.

Miami, which got 13 first-half points from Dragic, shot 41.5 percent during that span, including 6 of 15 on 3-pointers.

Toronto, backed by 12 points each from Lowry and Ibaka, shot 31.1 percent, including 3 of 22 on 3-pointers (13.6 percent).

The teams played to a standstill in the third quarter as Miami held on to its three-point lead (63-60).

Miami went on an 11-4 run between the end of the third and the start of the fourth -- and all 11 of those points were scored on Herro jumpers. That ignited Miami to a dominant fourth quarter and the win.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Miami
Serge Ibaka 19 Scoring Bam Adebayo 15
Kyle Lowry 8 Assists Kendrick Nunn 9
OG Anunoby 12 Rebounds Bam Adebayo 14
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 5 Free Throws Made Jimmy Butler 4
OG Anunoby 2 Steals Jimmy Butler 2
Chris Boucher 2 Blocks Bam Adebayo 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toronto 76 31.5 6-42 14-17 20 48 6 5 11
Miami 84 40.7 12-37 6-11 23 50 4 6 17
Upcoming Games
  • Miami will play their next game on the road against Orlando. The Heat have a W/L % of .625 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Brooklyn. The Raptors have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .727 after a loss.