Wade had 30 points as the Heat evened the series at 2-2 with a 94-87 OT win.
Dwyane Wade will not let the Miami Heat fold. He had 30 points, including the overtime-forcing bucket with 12.6 seconds left, to lead the Heat to a 94-87 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The win pulled the Heat even with the Raptors at 2-2 in their second-round playoff series.
The Raptors got nothing from stars Kevin Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, instead being led by Cory Joseph's 14 points as the Raptors went cold down the stretch to let the Heat back into it. The games haven't exactly been pretty, but they have been close.
The Heat led 25-21 after the first quarter and ended the half on a 9-0 run to end the second quarter by holding the Raptors scoreless over the final 4:03. They led 44-35 thanks to a big half from Wade, who netted 15 points. Miami went cold to start the third quarter, though, scoring only four points in the first seven minutes as the Raptors outscored the Heat 27-16 in the frame to take a 62-60 lead.
The Raptors kept pouring it on in the fourth as Lowry finally found a groove. They jumped out to a 79-72 lead with DeRozan on the bench. Dwyane Wade led a 6-0 run to pull the Heat to within two with 3:42 left. The Raptors struggled against the Heat's small lineup and, once Lowry fouled out with 1:58 left, looked like they would fold. Cory Joseph hit a huge bucket to give the Raptors an 83-79 lead with 1:30 left, but the Heat tied it after two Joe Johnson free throws and a Wade driving bucket with 12.6 seconds left to force overtime.
The Heat outscored the Raptors 6-2 over the first four minutes of overtime, but DeRozan finally hit a bucket to pull the Raptors to within two with 43 seconds left. Goran Dragic made a running bucket and was fouled with 22.4 seconds left, and that was it. The Raptors and Heat were tied at two wins apiece.
Game 5 is in Toronto on Wednesday.
Here are three things we learned:
Dwyane Wade isn't going down without a fight
Wade continued his fantastic play in this series, single-handedly keeping the Heat offense rolling even when they struggled. He was 13-of-24 from the field and hit bucket after bucket in the fourth quarter to bring the Heat back into the game. It didn't seem like Wade would top his 38-point Game 3 performance, but he was just as great on Monday. Wade is doing everything he can, and he's saving the Miami Heat.
The Raptors dormant offense is ruining them
While the two stars missing shots is a big problem for the Raptors offense, their lack of creativity on offense is an even bigger problem. Instead of moving the ball brilliantly like the Spurs, Warriors or Cavaliers, they rely on isolation and a two-man game. There's rarely movement from the wing players -- they sit dormant, hoping a pick-and-roll or drive to the hoop will force their defender off them. It's slow moving and unsuccessful, but the Raptors haven't made any effort to try anything else. Without a stingy defense -- it helps that the Heat offense was running into a lot of the same problems as the Raptors before going small -- leading to transition buckets, the Raptors didn't stand a chance.
Going small might be the key to taking this series
Being without their star big men, both teams have relied on the backups to take their place. After dismal offensive performances in Game 4, it might be time to experiment by going small for the rest of the series. Whiteside and Valanciunas are valuable players, and neither team has the tools to replace them. Game 4 was an offensive struggle because bigs like Lucas Nogueira and Josh McRoberts were getting valuable playing time. It's not to say they were terrible -- McRoberts had a nice block to end the third quarter -- but with both teams struggling to find any rhythm on offense, mixing up the lineups may be their best bet. The Heat did go small, playing with Luol Deng at center down the stretch, and it was their most effective lineup. The Heat weren't some magnificent offensive machine when they went small, but it was much better than anything else they were throwing out there. Because of it, they're even in the series.
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