MIAMI (AP) — Scottie Barnes scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat the reeling Miami Heat 112-91 on Tuesday night in the final pre-Christmas game for both teams.
Immanuel Quickley scored 18 for the Raptors — who got their 18th win in their 31st game of the season. They needed 57 games last season to get to the 18-win mark and are over .500 at Christmas for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 14 and Brandon Ingram finished with 12 for Toronto, which again played without RJ Barrett. He’s recovering from a sprained right knee.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 21 for the Heat, who are back to the .500 mark 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 figure the lowest. The Raptors beat the Heat 106-96 on Dec. 15.
Toronto won for only the fourth time in its last 12 games, with both wins over the Heat part of that span.
Norman Powell scored 17, Andrew Wiggins added 14 and Bam Adebayo grabbed 12 rebounds for the Heat. Miami played again without Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson, all who remain injured.
The Heat shot 40.2%, their worst at home this season.
A 10-0 run in the fourth quarter pretty much put things away for Toronto, with that spurt giving the Raptors a 99-76 edge midway through the final period.
The Heat and Raptors don’t play 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.