(SportsNetwork.com) – Something’s got to give Sunday evening when a pair of
2-0 teams, the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, clash at American Airlines
Arena.
The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia
76ers’ home opener. The defending Eastern Conference champions left the City
of Brotherly Love with a 114-96 win.
Chris Bosh led the way for the Heat with 30 points and eight rebounds.
Mario Chalmers came off the bench to score 20 points, Luol Deng and Shawne
Williams added 15 points each and Dwyane Wade scored nine points with 10
assists for Miami, which has won nine of its last 10 in Philadelphia.
“Everyone is getting opportunities with this offense,” said Wade. “You have a
guy like Mario tonight step up. Everyone is getting opportunities which is a
little different than what we’ve had.”
The Heat allowed the Sixers to shoot 52.2 percent from the field, but forced
25 turnovers, which led to 34 points. Miami went 12-for-24 from beyond the 3-
point arc and dominated the fourth quarter. The Heat outscored the 76ers,
27-13, over the final 12 minutes.
The Raptors got to 2-0 with a 108-95 road win in Orlando Saturday night.
DeMar DeRozan had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry
netted 21 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the
Raptors, who are off to a 2-0 start after beating Atlanta in their opener on
Wednesday.
“I thought Kyle and DeMar took over with their matchups,” Raptors head coach
Dwane Casey said.
Amir Johnson finished with 14 points, followed by 12 from James Johnson off
the bench. Terrence Ross chipped in 10 points for the reigning Atlantic
Division champs.
The Raptors had an off night shooting the basketball. Toronto only posted a
39.8 percent mark from the floor and 19 percent from long range. Orlando out-
shot the Raptors, but Toronto committed only nine turnovers and won the battle
on the glass, 50-40.
The Heat have dominated this matchup in recent history. They have won 15
consecutive meetings with the Raptors, including nine in a row at American
Airlines Arena.
