VanVleet hits 2 clutch 3-pointers to help Raptors defeat Heat in triple-OT thriller
Toronto guard finishes with 19 points, Trent Jr. leads team with 33 points
Fred VanVleet hit two 3-pointers in the third overtime and the Toronto Raptors outlasted the Miami Heat 124-120 on Saturday night.
"We hung in there and certainly could've went either way several times," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. "And to just keep hanging in there and keep fighting and keep figuring it out."
VanVleet's first 3 tied it at 117. Anunoby's dunk with 3:05 left put Toronto ahead for good before VanVleet connected again from long distance and a 122-117 lead.
"We fought through some adversity so it was good for us tonight to stick it out and keep our composure," VanVleet said.
Jimmy Butler had a triple-double with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Heat.
"It was highly competitive and wild swings, back and forth, of emotion," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was going to require a great deal of mental toughness to be able to fight through a lot of frustrating moments in the first three quarters, but I thought we responded. Just a terrific ball game in the fourth quarter and all the overtimes."
After shooting 3 for 15 in regulation, VanVleet was 4 of 7 in the overtime periods.
"At that point we tried everybody, everybody had a shot," VanVleet said. "Everybody had their chance once and it came to me again. By that point I'm going to shoot those and if we miss them we lose and if I make them we win."
Lowy-Raptors reunion delayed again
Former Raptors guard Kyle Lowry missed his seventh straight game for Miami. Lowry, who joined the Heat in the off-season after nine years in Toronto, is out because of personal reasons.
Miami prematurely celebrated Gabe Vincent's dribble to the front court and 35-foot heave that bounced in and would have given the Heat a 3-point win in the second overtime. But Vincent had not seen Spoelstra signal a timeout before his attempt.
Two free throws from Trent with 16.8 seconds left in overtime tied it at 105 and forced the first additional five minutes. Trent shot 13 of 28 from the field in his third consecutive game of scoring 30 or more points.
The Heat rallied from a 16-point third quarter deficit and outscored Toronto 27-17 in the fourth period.
