The Toronto Raptors emerge victorious over the Miami Heat 121-97 on a day where the franchise traded Pascal Siakam.
Toronto sent Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks. The New Orleans Pelicans were also involved in the trade, sending Kira Lewis to the Raptors.
The post-Siakam era off off to a solid start for the Raptors. They blitzed the Miami Heat out of the gate.
Toronto was on fire in the first quarter shooting 63 percent from the field and hit 7 of their 10 three-point attempts. They outscored the Heat 41-18 in the first quarter.
The Raptors kept the pressure on in the second quarter and led 78-43 at halftime.
The 35-point Raptors lead at half was the team’s largest halftime lead in a game since Dec. 1st, 2019.
This marked Miami’s largest halftime deficit in franchise history.
The Heat did cut into the Raptors lead in the third quarter winning the frame 30-16. Miami kept the pressure on in the fourth, cutting the lead to 14 but then the Raptors responded.
Gary Trent Jr. was huge in this game. He was inserted in the starting lineup following the trade and lit up the Heat. He led all scorers with 28 points on 8-9 shooting from deep.
The Raptors young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley did their part as well.
Barnes scored 20 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 5 assists.
Barrett scored 26 points, had 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
And Quickley added 17 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.
Rookie Gradey Dick showed some promise in the 11 minutes he played in this one scoring 6 points on 2-2 shooting from three and had 4 assists.
The Raptors finished the game 51 percent from the field and 53 percent from three. They played very unselfishly with 34 team assists.
Next on tap
Toronto will get ready to host DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 18. This will be the second night of a back-to-back for the Raptors, which will conclude their three-game homestand.
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