Heat fall to Raptors in overtime

Luol Deng made a clutch corner 3 to tie the game with 3.1 seconds remaining in regulation of the Miami Heat's Saturday night visit with the Toronto Raptors. But the Raptors dominated the Heat in the overtime period, scoring 15 points in the extra frame to come away with a 112-104 win.

Miami played with effort and intensity, but could not play well enough on the second night of a back-to-back to earn a win against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. Dwyane Wade missed the game with a bruised right thigh, and the Heat shot just 38 percent from the field.

Joe Johnson scored 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including four 3-pointers, on the night. He scored 10 consecutive points for the Heat during one stretch midway through the first quarter and found Deng in the corner for his game-tying 3. But the rest of the team couldn't provide enough help to the newcomer.

The Heat needed big nights from Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, and neither delivered. Dragic opened the game with a pull-up jumper and a 3, but scored just two points in the second half. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting, seven rebounds and nine assists. Those don't look like bad numbers at first glance, but it was easy to forget Dragic was on the court in the second half. When Wade is out, Dragic needs to carry the offensive load along with Johnson. Whiteside had 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks off the bench, but Jonas Valanciunas finished with 20 points and 10 boards. Whiteside appeared a step slow Saturday night. He needed to score 20 points.

On the positive side, Deng continued his strong play since moving to the power forward spot in Chris Bosh's absence. Deng scored 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field and grabbed five boards. In one third quarter sequence, he sprinted down the right side of the floor in a semi-transition, received a nice outlet pass from Dragic and converted on an and-one. His jump-shooting proved to stand as an advantage over the slower Luis Scola.

Although Amar'e Stoudemire had just four points in 19 minutes, he played some inspired basketball in the third and fourth quarters. He hustled for rebounds, played tough defense and scored at the rim. That's all he has to do for Miami when Whiteside rests. Miami will need more bursts like that from him while Bosh remains out.

As for Miami's two rookies, Justise Winslow started in place of Wade and finished with 11 points, five boards and three steals. Josh Richardson added eight points off the bench, but missed two free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt in the third quarter. In a game that goes into overtime, those things matter.

The Heat will host the Denver Nuggets Monday ay 7:30 p.m.