Whiteside, Bosh Power Heat To 96-76 Win Over Raptors
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MIAMI (The Sports Xchange) -- Hassan Whiteside had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to lead the Miami Heat to a 96-76 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night at American Airlines Arena.
Whiteside, 26, outplayed Jonas Valanciunas, 23, in a battle of young centers. Valanciunas had 17 points and five rebounds, but he was held to just one point in the second half.
The Heat (4-3) also got contributions from forward Chris Bosh (23 points, eight rebounds) and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (12 points). Wade passed former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen for 51st place on the NBA career scoring list.
Bosh is now 12-0 against the Raptors, his original NBA team.
Toronto, which started its season with five straight wins, is now 5-2, losing two games in Florida -- at Orlando and now Miami.
The Raptors star backcourt of point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard DeMar DeRozan played well overall but could not bring down the Heat. Lowry had 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and DeRozan had 16 points.
Toronto scored the game's first seven points. In fact, the Raptors never trailed in the first quarter and led 24-22 heading into the second period.
After a back-and-forth second quarter that featured five tie scores and two lead changes, the Raptors emerged with a 47-44 halftime lead.
Miami took control in the third quarter, outscoring Toronto 30-16. That gave the Heat a 74-63 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, Toronto cut its deficit to seven points, but Miami responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
NOTES: Raptors SF DeMarre Carroll missed his first game of the season Sunday. He has dealt with a foot injury for about 10 days, and Raptors coach Dwane Casey said it has affected his jumper and his defensive movement. ... SF James Johnson started in place of Carroll -- the first disruption in the Raptors starting lineup this season. ... Heat SG Gerald Green missed his fourth straight game but was reportedly released from a Miami hospital on Saturday. The Heat has not commented on Green, who was hospitalized on Wednesday after police were called to his Miami condo, reportedly finding him bleeding and combative. ... Sunday was the start of Miami's season-long seven-game homestand. ... Heat SG Dwyane Wade, plagued by leg injuries for the past few years, switched trainers in the offseason and has yet to miss a game.
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