Raptors overcome Wade's 40-point night win in over Heat

Basketball Betting Lines

11/19/2008 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrea Bargnani scored a season-high 25 points, leading the Toronto Raptors over the Miami Heat, 101-95, in a tough road test at American Airlines Arena.

Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal both posted double-doubles, with Bosh recording 15 points and 11 rebounds while O'Neal had 16 points and 17 rebounds. Anthony Parker was a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc for 19 points for the Raptors, who have won two of three.

"Every time they took the lead, we came right back and got the timely stops," said Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell. "(Bargnani) and (O'Neal) were just huge for us, and then (Parker) in the second half. We just kept telling (Parker) to shoot the basketball. The guys off the bench gave us some big points."

The Raptors shot 9-of-13 from three-point range in the game, including an 8-for-8 mark to finish the game.

Dwyane Wade had a game-high 40 points and 11 assists for the Heat, who have lost three of five. Shawn Marion added a season-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Daequan Cook had 10 points in the loss.

"We are going to build on (the game)," Wade said. "Tonight we played a team that played well throughout the whole game and hit big shots. We kept fighting and had a chance. At the end of the day, the best team won tonight."

Down 10 headed into the final quarter, Miami started on a 17-6 burst to seize an 84-83 lead with just under nine minutes remaining. Marion and Chris Quinn combined to score 10 during the run.

But Parker hit Toronto's seventh consecutive three-point attempt to take back an 86-84 advantage. Parker hit a fadeaway shot to go up four, but Wade's three-pointer with four minutes to play pulled Miami within 92-89.

Jose Calderon, who missed the last two games with a strained right hamstring, made a crucial steal with just over a minute to go and put the Raptors up by five with a driving layup past Quinn and Marion with 1:09 left.

Wade made a jumper with 41 seconds left to pull Miami within four, but Cook's three-point attempt on the next possession was off, and Parker put the finishing touches on the game with a couple free throws with under 10 seconds left to put Toronto up 101-95.

"Well we didn't like the result, but I think people probably got their money's worth on that game," said Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra. "Going down the stretch, it got as electric as it could get."

Toronto jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first six minutes, thanks to 10 early points from Bargnani. But Wade led the Heat back into it with nine points in the first, and Miami was only down two after the opening period.

The Raptors were able to increase their lead to nine in the beginning of the second, maintaining that advantage for most of the quarter. But Wade hit a jumper and a free throw in the last 20 seconds, and the Heat trailed only by four at the break.

Miami tied the game at 47 early in the third, but Toronto answered with an 8-0 run to regain the lead. The Raptors would increase their lead to as much as 17 thanks to the team's 6-for-6 shooting from three in the quarter and led 77-67 headed into the fourth.

Game Notes

Parker tied a team record for most three-pointers without a miss. It has happened two times in Toronto history, with the last being Mike James against Golden State on December 16, 2006...Calderon had eight points and seven assists...Miami shot just 7-of-23 from three-point range...Bargnani shot 3-of-4 from long range...Toronto leads the season series, 2-0, and has beaten the Heat six straight times...Wade set a career-high with five blocks.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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