Miami Heat vs. Toronto Raptors Prediction, NBA Odds
The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors play their second game in a row at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday and it’s the penultimate home game of the regular season for the Dinos. They are -4 on the NBA odds with a total of 239.5.
Heat vs. Raptors NBA Betting Odds
Just two games remaining in the regular season for both Miami and Toronto after Thursday, one home and one away each as they meet for the final time tonight. Little chance they will face off in the Eastern Conference playoffs with the Raptors just outside the Play-In Tournament field and Miami locked into one of those four spots. But if Toronto slips up down the stretch, we could see them meet in the Play-In.
Most NBA teams nowadays have a couple of these baseball-type series at home (not counting a home-and-home set) where they host a pair of games against a conference opponent to help cut down on travel. It’s the third one for Toronto, which played the first two at home vs. Atlanta and Philadelphia and swept the Hawks but split with the 76ers. Miami split a home one with Cleveland and Chicago, split a road one at the Cavs, and swept a home one vs. Brooklyn.
After Tuesday’s 26-point victory, the Raptors lead the season series 3-0 and haven’t swept one vs. Miami since 4-0 in 2018-19.
Miami Heat
Miami saw the return of its top two guards on Tuesday in Tyler Herro and former Raptor Norman Powell from either minor injury or illness, but the team looked completely flat in the 121-95 loss at Scotiabank Arena. That defeat locked the Heat into an East Play-In Tournament with the exact spot TBD.
Herro was held to 14 points and his eight field-goal attempts were a season low. Powell had missed the past four with a bit of a bug and looked a bit off at 4-for-12 from the field for 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench. He’s listed questionable tonight with groin soreness, an issue that has plagued Powell this season.
Toronto native Andrew Wiggins led Miami with 24 points Tuesday. The Heat are 13-0 this season when outrebounding their foes by double digits but lost that statistic by seven. Miami is averaging 120.4 points per game, second-highest in the NBA. That made Tuesday all the more surprising. The Heat are 1-5 ATS in their past six.
Toronto Raptors
Tuesday’s win was crucial for staying out of the East Play-In Tournament just as Thursday will be for the Dinos, who remain in the conference’s sixth spot. If they win tonight, staying there looks good even with a loss Friday at the Knicks as Sunday’s season finale is home to wretched Brooklyn.
Scottie Barnes was magnificent Tuesday with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting along with eight rebounds and five assists. But the big news was the return from an eight-game injury absence for stating guard Immanuel Quickley, who had three points, four rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes. It was an incredibly rare time this season that the Raptors had every player available. And the only one who got an DNP-coach’s decision Tuesday was Garrett Temple.
The Raptors had 34 assists, extending their team-record streak to seven straight games with at least 30. They are now 13-4 against Southeast Division teams this season, including 7-1 at home. The Dinos are 6-1 ATS in their past seven at home overall this season but these second games of a home/home series can be strange in terms of opposite results from the first leg.
MIA
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