Barnes posts double-double, career-high assists to help Raptors stifle Heat
Toronto forward posts 22 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds in 106-92 victory over Miami
The Miami Heat's defence kept opening up for Scottie Barnes, either for an incisive pass or a scoring opportunity, and he took full advantage.
"Every game is different, teams play defence differently," said Barnes. "Today I was just finding reads, making plays.
"Everybody was in the right spots and people were making shots."
Pascal Siakam just missed out on a double-double of his own with 26 points and nine rebounds as the Raptors (38-38) won their third-straight game. Barnes said that having Siakam on the court makes his job easier as a playmaker.
WATCH | Barnes helps keep Raptors rolling:
"He draws a lot of attention," said Barnes. "Of course, he scores the ball really well, but he also has a high IQ to be able to pass out of the double teams when he sees them coming very early.
"So he draws a lot of attention so it just creates for everybody else."
Raptors stay in playoff picture
The Raptors sit ninth in the tightly packed East standings, two games back of sixth-place Miami. The sixth through 10th places in the conference advance to the play-in portion of the NBA's post-season.
Toronto is 26-14 at home this season, but the Raptors embark on a five-game road trip Friday as the regular-season winds down.
Tyler Herro scored 33 for Miami (40-36), which was without all-star forward Jimmy Butler, who missed the game with a sore neck.
Bam Adebayo had a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds and former Raptors guard Kyle Lowry had six points and five rebounds coming off the bench for the Heat.
Miami is a half game back of Brooklyn in the standings, but the Nets hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series.
"Every loss right now is tough," said guard Victor Oladipo. "Obviously, it's a tight situation in the race in the East.
"Every loss is tough but it's about figuring it out so we've just got to figure it out."
Barnes showcases his skills
Barnes picked Oladipo's pocket and drove to the next for a breakout slam dunk in the dying seconds of the first quarter to give Toronto a 24-23 lead. Barnes led all scorers with 12 points in the first 12 minutes of play.
An 11-1 run early in the third helped the Raptors build a 16-point lead 5:26 into the quarter. A driving layup by Toronto guard Fred VanVleet extended that lead to 19 and brought the 19,800 fans at Scotiabank Arena to their feet with 3:08 left in the quarter. The Raptors held an 84-67 lead heading into the fourth.
The Raptors previous three-point shooting low this season was 19.6 per cent (9/46) in a 104-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 4.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Achiuwa and O.G. Anunoby and a late three from VanVleet helped Toronto avoid a worse shooting percentage from beyond the arc, finishing at 22.2 per cent (8/36).
