The Associated Press
Tim Reynolds
MIAMI—The jerseys that the Miami Heat are wearing this week have a military theme and say “Home Strong” on the chest—a nod to the name of the program the team founded to honour soldiers at every game.
For the next few days, those words may as well be a mantra for the Heat.
Starting a seven-game homestand in style, the Heat got 23 points from Chris Bosh, 20 points and 11 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside, and pulled away after halftime to dump the Toronto Raptors 96-76 last night.
“That was really inspiring basketball in the second half,” noted Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
“I think the second unit really sparked the energy of the entire team and everybody fed off that defensive energy.”
Miami outscored Toronto 30-16 in the third quarter. Then after Toronto closed within seven in the fourth, the Heat went on an 18-3 run fuelled mainly by reserves to put the game away.
Dwyane Wade scored 12 points, Tyler Johnson had 10, and Whiteside finished with six blocks for Miami, which had a sell-out crowd for the 250th-consecutive home game, including playoffs.
The military-inspired uniforms, replete with patriotic symbols, will be worn again for home games tomorrow and Thursday.
“They got into us defensively and made it tough for us,” noted Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey.
“Their aggression in the third quarter changed the game.”
Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 points for Toronto, which got 16 from DeMar DeRozan and 15 from Kyle Lowry.
The Raptors lost for the 11th time in their last 12 trips to Miami.
“We turned the ball over a little too much and that got them out in transition,” DeRozan said.
Bosh has appeared against his former team for the 12th time. The Heat are 12-0 in those games, and Bosh lauded the play again of Miami’s second unit—a clear strength for the Heat so far this season.
“They’re scrapping,” Bosh said. “And that’s what it’s about.”
Toronto finished its four-game road trip 2-2.
The Raptors next host New York tomorrow night.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Cleveland beat Indiana 101-97, New York downed the L.A. Lakers 99-95, Oklahoma City bombed Phoenix 124-103, and Detroit dumped Portland 120-103.
