Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 36 points (21 on 7 3-pointers), and the defending champion Toronto Raptors went on a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 107-103 for their sixth straight win.
The Heat went on an 18-7 run to lead 92-89 with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry’s 2 free throws put the Raptors ahead for good with 6:56 left. They took a 98-92 lead with 6:11 left.
The Heat got within 102-101 on Goran Dragic’s driving layup with 41 seconds to play, but Marc Gasol answered with a free throw, and the Heat got no closer. They had the ball down 2 with 14 seconds left, but VanVleet stole the ball from Jimmy Butler III. A basket would have tied the game.
OG Anunoby’s 2 free throws with 0.7 seconds left made it 107-103 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Raptors outscored the Heat 9-6.
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points (13 in the first quarter).
For the Heat, Dragic scored 25 points on 9 for 14 shooting off the bench. Butler scored 16 points.
The Raptors went 33 for 36 at the line to the Heat’s 15 for 16. The Heat outscored the Raptors 56-22 off the bench. The Raptors did not make a field goal in the last 6:11. The Raptors’ starters outscored the Heat 41-29 in 17 minutes together.