Barnes powers Raptors past Heat in critical win for Toronto's post-season seeding

Toronto Raptors' Scottie Barnes (4) shoots as Miami Heat's Kel'el Ware (7) defends during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Scottie Barnes had 25 points as the Raptors routed the Miami Heat 121-95 on Tuesday in a critical win for Toronto’s post-season seeding.

Barnes added eight rebounds and five assists for the Raptors (44-35), who tightened their grip on the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Ingram added 23 points with six rebounds.

Miami was 10th in the East, holding the fourth seed in the conference’s play-in tournament, three games back of the Raptors.

Immanuel Quickley (plantar fasciitis, right foot), Sandro Mamukelashvili (left knee soreness) and Collin Murray-Boyles (right quad contusion) were all made available to play for Toronto less than an hour before opening tipoff.

Quickley started, scoring three points and adding four assists and four rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., led Miami (41-38) with 24 points. Tyler Herro and former Raptors guard Norm Powell each had 14 points.

Takeaways

Heat: A poor shooting performance cooled off any offence Miami managed to string together in the final three quarters. The Heat finished 33-for-91 (36.3 per cent) on field-goal attempts, including 12-for-44 (27.3 per cent) on three-pointers.

Raptors: Toronto’s interior play carried the day, with the Raptors outscoring Miami 70-34 in the paint and getting 23 second-chance points to the Heat’s six. RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., and Murray-Boyles, like Barnes, had eight rebounds apiece.

Key moment

Barrett had a putback layup with 4:58 left in the first half to cap a 17-4 Raptors run that gave Toronto a 13-point lead.

Key stat

In the six games Miami has been held to fewer than 100 points this season, three were against the Raptors.

Up next

The Raptors and Heat will play each other again Thursday night at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press