Scottie Barnes scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat the struggling Miami Heat 112-91 on Tuesday night in the final pre-Christmas game for both teams.
Immanuel Quickley added 18 points for the Raptors, who earned their 18th win in their 31st game of the season. They needed 57 games last season to reach 18 wins and are over .500 at Christmas for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 14 points and Brandon Ingram finished with 12 for Toronto, which again played without RJ Barrett, sidelined with a sprained right knee.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. led Miami with 21 points. The Heat fell back to .500 at 15-15 and have dropped nine of their last 11 games. They’ve been held under 100 points twice this season — both by Toronto and both in losses — with Tuesday’s 91-point total their lowest. The Raptors also beat the Heat 106-96 on Dec. 15.
Toronto won for only the fourth time in its last 12 games, with both wins over Miami coming during that span.
Norman Powell scored 17 points, Andrew Wiggins added 14 and Bam Adebayo grabbed 12 rebounds for the Heat, who again played without Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson because of injuries.
Miami shot 40.2%, its worst at home this season.
A 10-0 run in the fourth quarter put the game away for Toronto, giving the Raptors a 99-76 lead midway through the final period.
The teams won’t meet again until a pair of matchups in Toronto on April 7 and April 9.
Up next
Raptors: Visit Washington on Friday, Toronto’s final road game before the calendar flips to 2026.
Heat: Visit Atlanta on Friday, the first of four meetings between the Southeast Division rivals this season.
