Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 125-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors (48-19) on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena:
1. There’s a big gap between the Heat (31-35) and the top teams in the Eastern Conference. If the standings aren’t enough to convince you, Sunday’s blowout loss to the Raptors should have done it.
Even without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard (load management), the Raptors — which are in second place in the East — controlled the game from start to finish. Toronto took a 5-4 lead with 10:27 remaining in the first quarter and never trailed again.