Toronto Raptors vs Miami Heat Apr.14/08

When the Cleveland Cavaliers edged Philadelphia on Monday night, a cheer went up behind the closed doors of the Toronto Raptors locker-room.

The Raptors were a happy bunch, guaranteed the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and headed to Orlando for the first round of the playoffs.

``We didn't want to go down, that's what it was about,'' Chris Bosh said. ``It takes a lot of pressure off Wednesday's (final regular-season) game. Going in knowing we already have the sixth spot is good.''

[ ] Rasho Nesterovic had 20 points and seven rebounds to top Toronto in a 91-75 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.

Playing for position in the penultimate game of the regular season, the Raptors were hoping to finish sixth and avoid facing the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs. They did their part by beating the Heat, then their fate rested with Philly, whose dramatic 91-90 loss to the Cavs minutes later sealed the deal.

``We can focus and prepare for a team now,'' Bosh said of the opening round, expected to begin Sunday in Orlando.

Bosh added 15 points for the Raptors (41-40), who swept their season series against the struggling Heat for the first time in the Raptors' 13-year history.

Anthony Parker chipped in with 13 points, while T.J. Ford and Jason Kapono had 11 apiece, and Jose Calderon added 11 assists.

Daequan Cook topped the Heat (14-67) with 22 points.

For a team looking to gain some steam heading into the playoffs though - the Raptors had lost 16 of their previous 24 games before Monday - this game wasn't much help.

The Heat led for a good chunk of the first half, and it wasn't until the third quarter that the Raptors managed to put any distance on their visitors. Ford had nine points in the quarter and the Raptors outscored the Heat 27-17 to take a 70-64 lead into the fourth.

``Well, both teams played last night and (Miami) made shots,'' Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said on the lethargic start.

It was all Raptors all the way to the final buzzer, as the Raptors held the Heat to just 11 points the fourth, and stretched their lead to 18 points on a basket by Bosh with 2:24 left.

The players gathered at centre court to salute the crowd after the final buzzer.

The Raptors, who wrap up the regular season at Chicago on Wednesday, were hoping to get Orlando as a first-round opponent. Toronto is 1-2 against the Magic this season, Bosh has had some big games against Magic all-star Dwight Howard, and neither team has much in the way of playoff experience.

``Dwight played in the playoffs for the first time last year just like me,'' Bosh said. ``Everybody is pretty fresh, there's not that playoff savvy veteran with the exception of Rasho. This whole series is a lot of young guys playing and trying to get some experience.''

Expect some hard-fought battles between Bosh and Howard. Bosh is averaging 22.7 points and 8.8 rebounds a night while Howard is scoring 20.9 points and 14.3 boards.

``It's going to be a lot of fun, Dwight's a good friend of mine, but he's also one of the best competitors that I have in this league,'' Bosh said. ``We have to get a gameplan ready for him.''

Bosh, who called out the crowd last week for being too quiet, posting a plea on YouTube for fans to get behind the team, addressed the fans before Monday's game, saying, ``we need your support for the playoffs, so keep cheering.''

The woeful Heat have lost 21 of their last 24 games, and with a game to go are guaranteed to at least match the worst single-season record in franchise history, set by the 1988-89 expansion team that went 15-67.

``We have six or eight guys out and that is no way to compete for a race,'' said Miami's Ricky Davis. ``It is just good to get it over with. You just keep coming to work everyday until (the season) is over.''

Heat forward and Montreal native Joel Anthony finished with four rebounds.

The Heat raced out to a 10-4 lead in an ugly opening quarter for both teams. The Raptors led several times but never by more than two points, and the Heat took a 28-25 lead into the second quarter.

Miami led for all of the second, and a jump shot by Cook put the visitors up by seven points. A three by Parker cut the Heat's lead to 47-43 at halftime.

A basket by Stephane Lasme put the Heat up by eight points early in the third before the Raptors finally found their game, outscoring the Heat 27-13 to the end of the quarter to take a six-point lead into the fourth.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Toronto
• Raptors
• vs
• Miami
• Heat
• Apr.14/08

[FilmTheNoob]

Raptors defence NEED to improve big time

[barry06]

orlando is gonna get merked in the playoffs.

[Rsd79]

I am happy that the Raps our now sixth but now am reserved about the chances of their playoff success. Before Bosh got injured, I was guaranteeing that they would beat the Magic, since Bosh won all of the one-on-one battles against Howard. Now 2nd round of the playoffs look glim. Unless, Calderon, Bosh, and Moon can do what they did before Bosh injured. At the same time, Delfino hopefully can return to his shooting form before Bosh was injured.

[epik89]

yay raptors

[MVPMASTER]

wow...miami heat went from top to bottom...Q_Q

[MVPMASTER]

wow...miami heat went from top to bottom...Q_Q

[JWalk]

w00tage first view and first post...man raptors were slacking in this game