The Toronto Raptors are now at nine wins and seven losses to begin the 2022-23 National Basketball Association regular season, after a 112-104 win over the Miami Heat at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. The win came even though two key Raptors, in Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr., are out with injuries. Siakam has a strained right adductor muscle, and Trent Jr. has a hip injury.
On Wednesday, it was an impressive third quarter, where the Raptors outscored the Heat 30-19, including a 21-0 run, that has the basketball world buzzing. The Heat were actually leading the Raptors 70-59 with three minutes and eight seconds into the third quarter, when Toronto scored 21 unanswered points to take an 80-70 lead. The Heat did not score another point until 94 seconds left in the third quarter. Of the 21 points, O.G. Anunoby scored nine points, and Fred VanVleet had eight points. During the streak, the Raptors got three free throws from VanVleet, three two-point field goals from Anunoby, a three-point shot from VanVleet and Anunoby and a two-point field goal each from Thaddeus Young, Scottie Barnes, and VanVleet.
Five Raptors reached double digits in scoring. Anunoby had a season-high 32 points, VanVleet had 23 points, Barnes had 19 points, Chris Boucher of Montreal, Quebec had 15 points, and Young had 12 points. Anunoby and Boucher had double-doubles as they had 10 rebounds each. Boucher had a double-double coming off the bench.
The NBA record for the longest run in a game is 29 points. The first time was in a 128-92 Los Angeles Lakers win over the Sacramento Kings on February 4, 1987, and the second time was in a 101-86 Cleveland Cavaliers win over the Milwaukee Bucks on December 6, 2009.
