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Game 5: HEAT 91 - Raptors 99 Recap

The Miami HEAT fell to the Toronto Raptors 99-91 Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 20 points. Toronto now leads the series 3-2.

1. Wade and Johnson Come Alive in Crunch Time

With Game 5 hanging in the balance, both Wade and Joe Johnson did what they usually do down the stretch: score.

Wade hit a few tough jumpers in the fourth quarter and ended up with eight points in the period. He also got to the charity stripe quite often in the contest. Johnson, meanwhile, started to take advantage of his matchup with Patrick Patterson and scored six points in the fourth. Although the Raptors did a nice job defensively overall, the duo continued to fight until the very end.

In addition to his 20 points, Wade also tallied seven rebounds and four assists on the evening. Johnson, on the other hand, finished with 11 points and eight boards.

2. Richardson Connects From Long Range

Like with Wade and Johnson, Josh Richardson’s biggest contribution came in the fourth. In fact, the rookie drained three 3-pointers in the final quarter, with a majority of those coming in transition.

Thus was the case for Richardson’s best sequence of the night. To start it off with 11:06 to go in the fourth, he blocked Patterson straight up in the post. From there, Justise Winslow grabbed the loose ball and threw it up ahead to Goran Dragic. The Slovenian then passed it to Joe Johnson, who found Richardson on the opposite wing for the 3-pointer.

Earlier in the game, Richardson gave the team a jolt of energy once he checked in for the first time. Immediately after entering the game in the first quarter, he came through with an explosive drive and finish at the rack.

In all, the former Tennessee Volunteer totaled 13 points and three rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

3. Dragic Responds

With Toronto thriving on both ends early on, Dragic responded quite well at the end of the first half. In fact, he scored ten points in the second quarter on 5-of-5 shooting to cut the deficit to ten entering halftime. During his individual run, he knocked down a few jumpers and also had a nifty finish at the rim over Bismack Biyombo.

The point guard ended up with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists on the night.

Other Takeaways:

-Gerald Green continued to show a lot of energy on the defensive end and did a nice job of limiting Kyle Lowry in the third quarter.

Game Notes:

-Luol Deng exited the game in the third quarter with a left wrist injury and did not return to action.

-Hassan Whiteside (knee) and Chris Bosh were inactive.