The Toronto Raptors controlled the game from the second quarter onward and beat the Miami Heat 121-95 on Tuesday night in a result that pushed Miami into the play-in tournament for a fourth straight season. Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 25 points, while Brandon Ingram added 23 as the Raptors strengthened their push for a top-six finish in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto improved to 44-35 and moved within one game of idle Atlanta for fifth place in the standings. The Raptors also stayed one game ahead of Philadelphia in the race for the conference’s sixth and final guaranteed playoff berth, keeping their first postseason appearance since 2022 in sight.
Toronto’s second-quarter surge changed the game
The Raptors erased an early deficit with a 19-2 run in the first half that flipped a two-point hole into a 13-point lead. From there, Toronto controlled the pace and kept the margin in double digits for most of the night.
Jakob Poeltl finished with 17 points, RJ Barrett scored 16 and Jamal Shead supplied 11 assists off the bench for Toronto. The balanced production gave the Raptors steady scoring across the lineup and limited Miami’s chances to build momentum.
Miami’s slide continued
Andrew Wiggins led the Heat with 24 points, while Tyler Herro and Norman Powell each scored 14. Bam Adebayo had a difficult night, finishing with seven points on 2-for-14 shooting after his 83-point performance against Washington last month.
Miami fell for the ninth time in its last 12 games and likely needs to win its final three regular-season games to avoid being locked into the No. 10 seed. The loss also confirmed another play-in path for a team that has now ended up in that position in each of the last four seasons.
Key numbers from the game
- Toronto shot well enough early to turn a close game into a comfortable lead.
- Barnes, Ingram and Poeltl combined to give the Raptors three reliable scoring options.
- Miami struggled to generate consistent offense outside Wiggins and sparse support scoring.
- The Heat were outworked on both ends after Toronto’s first-half burst.
Toronto also improved to 3-0 against Miami this season, with a chance to complete a sweep of the season series when the teams meet again Thursday in Toronto. The Raptors have swept the Heat only twice before, including 4-0 season series wins in 2007-08 and 2018-19, and they enter the rematch with momentum in a crowded Eastern Conference race.
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