The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors met in Toronto on Tuesday night with both teams still in the Eastern Conference play-in mix, and there was little room left for drift. Toronto entered at 4-6 over its last 10 games and had slipped to the No. 6 seed in the East, while Miami sat in the No. 10 spot after winning three of its last 10.
This was the first of two final meetings between the teams, and the rematch was already set for Thursday in Toronto. The Raptors still had two games against Miami, along with matchups against New York and Brooklyn, left on their schedule as they tried to avoid the play-in. The Heat, meanwhile, were trying to hold their place after making the playoffs from the same spot in the 2024-25 season.
The night also put Jaime Jaquez Jr. back in the spotlight. He was averaging 15.2 points per game and had scored 12 or more points in six consecutive games, with his prop set at even money for 12 or more points on Tuesday. Jaquez had gone for 21 points in his last meeting with Toronto, and he arrived with Tyler Herro and Norman Powell expected to be in action for Miami as the Heat kept pushing at the No. 1 pace in the NBA.
That combination made the game more than another late-season meeting. Toronto needed results to keep its path clear, Miami needed wins to stay from slipping any farther, and both clubs had a second chance to shape the standings waiting just two nights later. For the Heat, the question was whether the pace and Jaquez's steady scoring could keep turning close games into points. For the Raptors, the test was whether the slide could be stopped before the final stretch decided their season.
