Raptors rain threes on outmanned Heat

The shorthanded Heat fell behind by 21 in the first half, rallied to tie the score in the third quarter, but ultimately couldn’t do enough to earn a second consecutive road win.

Without two starters in Tyler Herro (neck spasms) and Jimmy Butler (health and safety protocols), the Heat made a lopsided game competitive for a few minutes in the second half but fell to the Toronto Raptors 101-81 on Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Miami never led in

the game.

The Heat defeated the Raptors on Wednesday to begin its four-game trip.

After the Heat rallied to tie Friday’s contest at 61 with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter, the Raptors responded by closing that period on a 12-3 run to regain control.

From the moment Miami tied the score in the third quarter, the Raptors outscored the Heat 40-20 the rest of the way.

One of the biggest differences in Friday’s game was the Raptors’ efficient threepoint shooting. Toronto finished 17 of 40 from threepoint range, compared to 7-of-31 shooting from deep for Miami.

The Raptors outscored the Heat 51-21 on threes.

The Heat now travels to Brooklyn, New York, to complete the road back-to-back against the Nets on Saturday (8 p.m., Fox Sports Sun, NBA

TV).

Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Raptors:

The Heat will continue to play shorthanded for the rest of its four-game trip, with Herro sent home to Miami on Friday.

After returning to practice on Thursday in Tampa, Herro woke up Friday with more neck soreness and the team decided to send him to Miami rather than have him push through the pain.

That means the Heat not

MIKE EHRMANN Getty Images The Heat’s Duncan Robinson finds his path to the basket blocked by Norman Powell in Friday’s loss to the Raptors. Robinson finished with 11 points, including 3 of 6 on three-point attempts. Takeaways from the Heat’s road loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday. The Heat played without Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Avery Bradley and Meyers Leonard.