You can’t say this series isn’t close. For the third time in four games it took an additional five minutes to decide a winner and for the second time it was Miami. The Heat evened the series at 2-2, reducing it to a best-of-three with Toronto holding homecourt advantage.
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Miami Heat +4.5
Toronto Raptors -4.5
Over/Under 187.5
LOOK AHEAD
Four games, three overtime outcomes and two road splits. What have the Heat and Raptors settled out of all of this? Other than the fact that neither team is going to scare LeBron James much in the next round, not very much.
What matters most for the Heat is that they won in overtime on Monday night, meaning they aren’t down 3-1 in this series, which is headed back to Canada for Game 5, and all things remain possible. And how much more equal can this series be? It’s even in games and the Heat have outscored the Raptors, 379-374. The difference has been Dwyane Wade, who’s averaging 27.3 points in this series – nine more than any other player.
INJURIES
The Raptors will be without center Jonas Valanciunas for the remainder of the series with a sprained right ankle. He was injured in the third quarter of Toronto’s Game 3 victory. Valanciunas averaged 15 points and 12.1 rebounds in the playoffs and had a double-double in all three games he played against Miami.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside is listed as questionable for Game 5 with a first degree MCL sprain in his right knee. He was injured during the second quarter of Saturday’s game. These types of injuries can linger, putting his status in doubt for the remainder of the series.
KEY MATCHUP
No bigs, that’s the extra-large storyline, and it will continue to be as this even-battle of flawed contenders continues. Valanciunas is out for the series. Likewise, shot-blocker Whiteside seems unlikely to return from a knee injury. That turned the Game 4 action into a slashing race to see who could get to the rim first and best. Miami did just enough to get by on Monday.
Bismack Biyombo started in place of Valanciunas and made an impact, dunking on Amare Stoudemire – Miami’s starter in place of Whiteside – while getting fouled 3:05 into the game. Biyombo hit 4 of 6 field goals and all five free throws to account for 13 points while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds in just over 31 minutes. He got the better of Stoudemire, Josh McRoberts and Udonis Haslem, all of whom had a chance defending the Raptors back up big man.
QUICK PICK
The Raptors need their backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to show up if they expect to advance to the next round. After the pair combined for 52 points in the Game 3 win, the duo was a dud on Monday, shooting a combined 6 of 28 while scoring 19 points between them. And still the Raptors led for much of the fourth quarter before succumbing in overtime. It was a blown opportunity for the Raptors, who have never had a 3-1 series lead before.
If those two are just slightly better, we’re discussing a matchup of the top two seeds in the East meeting in the conference finals. Instead, the questions remain about whether or not those two are just regular season players. Meanwhile, Wade continues to cement his status as one of the best clutch players in league history. But that narrative can change as quickly as a lead in this series. And with the team’s returning to the ACC, the Raptors take the series lead.
NBA Odds: Toronto 103, Miami 100
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