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After a rare road win in New Orleans, the Raptors found themselves on the losing end again on the road, thanks largely to a poor third quarter in Miami.

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Leading 61-58 at halftime in a back-and-forth game, Toronto was overwhelmed by an active Miami defense that often went into a zone against the bewildered visitors and in a game that saw two players record triple-doubles , lost 121:111.

Scottie Barnes had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Raptors, while Bam Adebayo had 14, 10 and 10. Jimmy Butler added 26 for the Heat, RJ Barrett 25 and Jakob Poeltl 24 for the Raptors.

A 19-7 Heat run turned things around, giving Miami a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were a big problem for the Raptors, as Miami turned 19 Toronto mistakes into 27 points.

Games in Toronto and Miami are often ugly affairs, but there was plenty of offense in this game: the Raptors shot 53.8% from the field and the Heat made 21 three-pointers, making up for the heavy shooting.

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Toronto fell to 5-15, including 1-11 on the road, while Miami improved to 9-9.

However, things looked good for the guests at the beginning: Miami threw an incredible 17 three-pointers in the first quarter, but only managed two of them.

But despite those numbers, the Raptors still fell behind by one point. And when the inevitable happened — Miami fired the shots — the pressure was on. Miami sank 5 of 10 three-pointers in the second quarter and trailed by three points.

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Sophomore Jaime Jacquez took over in the third period with eight of his 15 points as Toronto started the quarter just 1-for-10 from three-point range. The Heat ended the quarter with a 19-7 run and took full control of the game with a 96-84 lead.

Toronto didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.

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Barnes recorded his sixth triple-double, passing Pascal Siakam for second place on the Raptors all-time list behind Kyle Lowry’s 16.

The contest marked the conclusion of a four-game road trip for the Raptors and also marked the start of a home game with the Heat. Miami is in Toronto on Sunday for an early tip. There’s a chance Raptors winger Bruce Brown could make his season debut in this game after the team originally hoped he would play on the trip. With Brown and sophomore Gradey Dick and starting point guard Immanuel Quickley still out, rookie Ja’Kobe Walter made his second straight start and scored six points. Toronto was again without experienced big man and former Miami player Kelly Olynyk.

@WolstatSun

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