Raptors hold off Heat 96-94

DeMar DeRozan had a strong first half and finished with 38 points to go with six rebounds as the Raptors beat the Miami Heat 96-94 on Friday night in Toronto’s final home game of the regular season.

Canadian point guard Cory Joseph came off the bench with 14 points and three assists for Toronto (49-31), who cut the idle Boston Celtics lead in the Atlantic Division to 1 1/2 games. Kyle Lowry had 12 points, six assists and seven rebounds in his first game back in Toronto since wrist surgery on March 1 forced him to miss 18 games.

Lowry had returned to the Raptors lineup on Wednesday, scoring 27 points with 10 assists and five rebounds in their 105-102 win in Detroit but mentioned earlier Friday that he was sore.

Former Raptor James Johnson led the Heat (38-41) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Goran Dragic added 18 points.

The Raptors final two games of the regular season are on Sunday in New York against the Knicks and Wednesday in Cleveland.

Toronto’s opponent in the first round of the playoffs is still to be determined. There are five possible opponents as the Eastern Conference’s final standings shake out including: Atlanta, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana and Miami.

DeRozan, Joseph and Lowry were the focal point of the Raptors offence as head coach Dwane Casey went with a smaller lineup to match the Heat’s speedy roster.

A Hassan Whiteside alley-oop dunk with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter tied the game 82-82 for Miami, but DeRozan responded with a three-pointer on Toronto’s next possession.