DeMar DeRozan scored 40 again, and the Raptors' D cooled off the Heat

Just seven nights ago, the Toronto Raptors looked to be teetering on the brink. They’d lost five of their last eight to fall two games behind the Washington Wizards for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, they sat just two games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks in the race for the No. 4 spot and home-court advantage in the first round, and they were coming off a 21-point blowout at the hands of Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder that led head coach Dwane Casey to apologize to Raptors fans for an “unacceptable” effort. What a difference a week — and a couple of monster performances by an All-Star scoring savant — can make.

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Without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, who continues to work his way back from right wrist surgery, and without starting power forward Serge Ibaka, who was suspended for throwing hands with Robin Lopez on Tuesday, the Raptors went into South Florida, fell behind by 15 points late in the first quarter … and came back to rout the Miami Heat, 101-84, behind a second straight superstar outing from DeMar DeRozan.

The Heat have been one of the best defensive teams in the NBA all season long, but no matter how hard they worked or how tightly they contested on Thursday, they had no answers for DeRozan’s combination of peerless footwork, athleticism and feathery touch.

The 6-foot-7 swingman poured in 40 points on 14-for-25 shooting — without a 3-pointer, as is his wont, but with incredible efficiency that belied just the degree of difficulty of the shots he was taking — and a 12-for-13 mark at the foul line to go with six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 36 minutes of floor time to lead the Raptors to their league-leading 19th win after falling into a double-digit deficit. That’s one of those statistical achievements that you’d probably rather not own, but it sure beats the alternative of not finding ways to climb out of those holes time and again.

That’s DeRozan’s second straight 40-point game, coming on the heels of a 42-point explosion against the Chicago Bulls, which is both the first time he’s done that and the first time any Raptor has done it in 16 years:

True to form, DeRozan’s injured running buddy and comedy partner refused to let him get a swelled head about his big back-to-back nights, evoking Dwayne Johnson’s squared-circle alter-ego in the process during a post-game interview:

With DeRozan dominating in the half-court, the Raptors had half of the recipe that’s helped them stay afloat since Lowry went down at the All-Star break. And after a first quarter that saw the Heat race out to a 15-point lead behind nine points and five assists from point guard Goran Dragic, the Raptors dug deep to locate the other part of their post-Lowry puzzle: stultifying, suffocating defense.

Toronto broke out the clamps over the final 36 minutes of game time, allowing a Heat team operating without shooting guard Dion Waiters (still in a walking boot after a recent ankle sprain) to score just 51 points on 19-for-58 shooting (32.8 percent). Miami made only three field goals in the second quarter, and just two of its final 17 3-point tries after going 4-for-6 in the opening frame. The Heat dished only nine assists against 14 turnovers from the start of the second quarter through the final buzzer, all but falling apart late in the third quarter after star center Hassan Whiteside was forced to the bench with his fourth foul.

The energy, activity and doggedness was clear, and infectious. With Lowry shelved, sophomore Delon Wright got a longer look and earned his keep, using his length and quickness to pester Dragic the length of the court, helping harass the Heat’s top gun into finishing with just 13 points on 5-for-18 shooting.

“They were more physical than us,” Dragic said after the game, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I feel like we couldn’t get the really good rhythm in our offense and then our defense fell apart a little bit. I need to get better first. Tonight was not a good game for me.”

The defensive effort helped Wright, a 2015 first-round pick who has missed most of his first two seasons due to injury, find a rhythm on the other end, too, leading to perhaps his best game since returning from right shoulder surgery: 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 24 minutes off the bench.

Toronto got contributions from a variety of other sources, too. DeMarre Carroll kept his hands in the passing lanes, coming up with three steals. Guard Norman Powell fought through screens and disrupted on the perimeter while also chipping in 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Ibaka’s absence opened up minutes for rookie Jakob Poeltl, who showed quick feet in helping his guards bottle up dribble penetration in space while also attacking the glass, coming up with six rebounds (three on the offensive glass) in 23 1/2 minutes.

P.J. Tucker continued to provide the versatile and galvanizing defensive presence he’s brought since coming over from the Phoenix Suns at the trade deadline. Since the pickups of Tucker and Ibaka, the Raptors have allowed just 101.3 points per 100 possessions, the third-stingiest mark in the NBA, behind only the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. They’re dominating the defensive glass, locking down the paint, and hauling back in transition to prevent fast-break points. It hasn’t always been pretty, but it’s been effective.

Combine that cranked-up defensive intensity with DeRozan going nuts, and a Raptors team that struggled mightily whenever Lowry sat last year has somehow found a way to not only survive, but thrive:

Toronto has now won four straight to improve to 43-29, having built up a 5 1/2-game cushion over the Hawks for home-court advantage in Round 1, and sits just a half-game behind the Wizards in the race for No. 3. The Heat, meanwhile, have now lost two of three, including two straight games when they’ve had a chance to become the first team in NBA history to reach .500 after falling 19 games below.

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The Heat remain in line for the East’s eighth and final playoff berth at 35-37, but lost ground in their attempt to keep climbing the rankings; they’re now 1 1/2 games back of the No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks and No. 7 Indiana Pacers. Worse, Erik Spoelstra’s club now has only a one-game cushion over the ninth- and 10th-place Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, both of whom will enter Friday’s play at 34-38, and saw center Whiteside — already playing with 13 stitches in his right hand and a heavily bandaged paw — suffered a sprained left ankle with just over a minute left in the loss, casting his availability and effectiveness for a Sunday visit to the red-hot Boston Celtics in doubt.

“[The ankle sprain is] not like Dion’s,” said Whiteside, who finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 30 minutes, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It’s just more annoying […] [The lacerated hand] was tough. It hurt. But the other team is not going to feel sorry for me. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I would have played and we would be in the playoffs right now.’ I’m going to give what I can give.”
That’s the same mantra the Lowry-less Raptors have been leaning on while they wait for their lead guard to get back. So far, so good.

“It talks about toughness, heart,” Casey said after the game, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “Our give-a-crap level is pretty high, and it’s one of those things where when you count us out, we find a way.”

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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