Bam Adebayo had 15 points (14 in the paint) and 14 rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat the defending champion Toronto Raptors 84-76.
Tyler Herro’s corner 3-pointer put the Heat ahead for good with 27 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Raptors got within 65-64 on Chris Boucher’s putback with 10:26 to play, but Herro answered with a 3-pointer, and the Raptors got no closer.
For the Raptors, Serge Ibaka had 19 points (16 in the paint) and 10 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet went 1 for 11 from 3.
The Heat shot 40.7% from the field and 32.4% from 3 to the Raptors’ 31.5% and 14.3%. They held the Raptors to 76 points and outscored them 40-20 off the bench. The Heat outscored the Raptors 18-6 in 9 minutes with Dragic, Jones, Adebayo, Nunn and Herro on the floor together.