Heat fall 101-81 to Raptors, dropping fourth straight

This is not only insane, but could, should the National Basketball Association or new coach Tyronn Lue deem it appropriate, mean Dwane Casey coaches the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

In breaking a 10-game road losing streak, the injury-riddled Hornets overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Magic 22-3 over a seven-minute stretch. His nine field goals made in the half were a career high. Toronto’s played Orlando twice this year-one they lost frustratingly by five, and in the other, they needed overtime to come away with a sloppy three-point win in London.

Unfortunately, Lowry’s backcourt mate, DeMar DeRozan, didn’t receive enough votes to start for his unbelievable play this season.

“If it’s there, I’ll shoot it”, DeRozan said of the three-pointer. He finished with 26, drawing a regular chorus of boos throughout the night. As a review: Luol Deng (eye), Goran Dragic (calf), Hassan Whiteside (hip), Josh McRoberts (knee), and Chris Andersen (knee), are all out. With starters and reserves both unavailable, head coach Erik Spoelstra has had difficulty finding healthy bodies on a daily basis.

“We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves”, he added.

“There were key moments, swing moments in this game where we could get it to five, or get it to seven, and every time we had an opportunity to score we’d have an awkward offensive possession and before you know it, it’s a 14-point game”, he said. This strategy has worked through the first half of the season, but it begs the question as to whether or not this playing time strategy is sustainable, especially if the Raptors want to succeed in the playoffs. Johnson came in for more abuse in the second when a Cory Joseph move left him stumbling like a drunken sailor.

Canadian actress Rachel McAdams, nominated for best supporting actress at next month’s Oscars for her role in “Spotlight”, sat courtside and was serenaded by the Toronto mascot, the Raptor, in the first quarter.

After shooting 65.2 percent from the floor in the first quarter to take an eight-point lead, Toronto took its foot off the gas in the second to allow Boston back into it and required DeRozan’s heroics and 40 total points in the third to regain the advantage.

Of course, this is nit picking at what was, in the end, a 20-point blowout for the Raptors, a truly positive result to cap a truly positive week for the franchise. Green thumped the padding under the basket in frustration and, still brooding, was hit with a technical soon after.

Not to be left out, local politicians couldn’t be happier to see the Raptors’ favourite strut his stuff in the first all-star game north of the border. It was the fifth time this season that the Raptors have scored at least 60 points in the first half.

After scoring 64 points in his previous two games, DeRozan led the way, putting 15 on the board in the first quarter as the Raptors took a 31-10 lead. But as the Raptors have improved, so has DeRozan (or vice versa?). Rookie Jordan Mickey missed his second consecutive game (left ankle).

In the final frame, the Raptors led by four points when Isaiah Thomas committed a costly turnover on an inbound play out of a timeout with 41 seconds left.