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After a rare road win in New Orleans, the Raptors found themselves back in the losing column away from home, thanks in large part to a poor third quarter in Miami.

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Leading 61-58 at halftime in a back-and-forth game, Toronto was smothered by an active Miami defense that often went into a zone against the confused visitors and fell 121-111 in a game that saw two players recorded triple-doubles.

Scottie Barnes had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Raptors, while Bam Adebayo had 14, 10 and 10. Jimmy Butler added 26 points for the Heat, RJ Barrett 25 and Jakob Poeltl 24 for the Raptors.

A 19-7 Heat run turned things around and gave Miami a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were a major problem for the Raptors, with Miami converting 19 Toronto miscues into 27 points.

The games in Toronto and Miami are often ugly affairs, but there was plenty of offense in this game, with the Raptors shooting 53.8% from the field and the Heat hitting 21 three-pointers, making up for that scorching shot.

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Toronto fell to 5-15, including 1-11 on the road, while Miami improved to 9-9.

However, things looked good early for the visitors, with Miami launching an impressive 17 three-pointers in the first quarter but making only two.

But despite those numbers, the Raptors still fell one point behind. And when the inevitable happened – Miami hit shots – the pressure was on. Miami made five of 10 three-pointers in the second quarter and trailed by three.

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Sophomore Jaime Jacquez took over in the third with eight of his 15 points as Toronto started the quarter just 1-for-10 from three-point range. The Heat closed the quarter on a 19-7 run and took full control of the game with a 96-84 lead.

Toronto got no closer than within seven the rest of the way.

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Barnes scored his sixth triple-double and passed Pascal Siakam for second place on the Raptors all-time list, behind Kyle Lowry’s 16.

The game capped a four-game Raptors road trip and also kicked off a home-and-home set with the Heat. Miami is in Toronto on Sunday for an early tip-off. There’s a chance Raptors wing Bruce Brown could make his season debut in that game after the team initially hoped he would play on the trip. With Brown and sophomore Gradey Dick still out, along with starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, rookie Ja’Kobe Walter got his second straight start and scored six points. Toronto was also once again without veteran big man and ex-Miami player Kelly Olynyk.

@WolstatSun

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