MIAMI — Jimmy Butler went to the foul line in the final moments of the fourth quarter Wednesday night, talking and smiling the entire time.
There’s a lot for Butler and the Heat to be happy about right now.
Butler scored 27 points, 14 of them in the final quarter, and the Heat won their fourth consecutive game by topping the Raptors 116-108.
Butler also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, plus a season-high three 3-pointers, two of them in the final minutes. Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, Duncan Robinson added 17 points and Goran Dragic scored 15 in his return from an ankle injury.
“We’re just out there having fun,” Adebayo said.
It was the eighth win in the last 11 games for the Heat, who started the season 7-14.
“Everybody that played really contributed at different points in the game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And then Jimmy’s game was the quintessential, all-around winning basketball game.”
Kyle Lowry, returning from a thumb injury, scored 24 for Toronto. Fred VanVleet also had 24 for the Raptors, Norman Powell scored 17 and OG Anunoby had 14.
“I thought we outplayed them,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought we outplayed them in almost all facets. … The ball just bounced their way a lot.”
Powell made a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to get Toronto within 100-98 before Butler had the game’s next three plays of significance: a 3-pointer, a steal on the ensuing possession and a layup to push Miami’s lead back to seven.
Another 3-pointer by Butler with 3:23 left restored the seven-point edge, and Miami kept the lead the rest of the way.
“He’s our leader, and we need him,” Dragic said.
Lowry scored 12 of Toronto’s first 20 points in the opening 6½ minutes, and he made a 31-footer over Miami’s zone midway through the second quarter to tie it at 48.
The next 2:51 belonged to Miami.
The Heat went on a 17-2 spurt in that time to open a 15-point lead and took a 66-56 edge into halftime.
Toronto scored the first 10 points of the second half, erasing the deficit, but a 17-6 answer by the Heat helped them take a 92-85 lead into the fourth. And the Raptors never led at any point in the final 31½ minutes.
“It was fun to be back out there with the fellas,” said Lowry, who acknowledged that his thumb was hurting at times after contact. “We gave it a tough fight, but we didn’t pull it out at the end.”
— By TIM REYNOLDS
TORONTO (108): Anunoby 6-13 0-0 14, Powell 6-11 2-2 17, Siakam 1-6 2-2 5, Lowry 9-13 2-4 24, VanVleet 6-13 7-8 24, Baynes 3-5 0-0 7, Bembry 0-0 0-0 0, Boucher 4-6 1-1 11, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 2-6 0-0 6, McCaw 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-74 14-17 108.
MIAMI (116): Butler 8-17 8-8 27, Olynyk 3-9 1-2 7, Adebayo 7-11 5-6 19, Nunn 2-9 2-2 7, Robinson 6-11 1-1 17, Achiuwa 0-0 1-2 1, Iguodala 4-5 0-0 12, Dragic 4-13 5-6 15, Vincent 3-5 2-2 11. Totals 37-80 25-29 116.
Toronto 35 21 29 23 — 108
Miami 32 34 26 24 — 116
3-Point Goals—Toronto 20-44 (VanVleet 5-11, Lowry 4-7, Powell 3-6, Boucher 2-3, Anunoby 2-5, Davis 2-6, Baynes 1-2, Siakam 1-3), Miami 17-38 (Iguodala 4-5, Robinson 4-9, Butler 3-4, Vincent 3-5, Dragic 2-6, Nunn 1-4, Olynyk 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Toronto 32 (Lowry 7), Miami 42 (Adebayo 12). Assists—Toronto 30 (Lowry 8), Miami 31 (Butler 10). Total Fouls—Toronto 25, Miami 21.
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