TORONTO - The Raptors nearly shocked everyone with their second-half comeback in an eventual defeat to the two-time defending champs. Everyone except the champs themselves, that is. "We get the best of each team we play," the Heats Dwyane Wade recognized shortly before his team handed the division-leading Raptors their ninth loss in 15 games to begin the season. "We dont even look at records, it doesnt matter." "Teams come out and theyre ready to play us, and rightfully so. Weve earned it." But the home team did not come out ready to play, not like their coach had hoped and expected them to following a similarly slow start in a defeat three days prior. "Our defence, pressure on the basketball, tags and our rotations were a step slow in the first half," Dwane Casey said after Torontos 90-83 loss to Miami. A well-oiled machine, Miamis offence steamrolled over the Raptors in the first half. Toronto fell behind by 14 at the break and trailed by as much as 20 midway through the third quarter before the alarm clock finally went off. Torontos defence woke up, holding the Heat to one field goal in the final five minutes of the third quarter and cutting the deficit to two late in the fourth. Still, as it was against Brooklyn on Tuesday and has been so often in the past, it wasnt enough to save the Raptors from suffering an inevitable loss to a team that feasts on those who lose their focus. "Right now were a one-half team," Casey said. "Weve got to get two solid halves put together." Easier said than done. "Whats it going to take," Tyler Hansbrough asked, rhetorically. "Thats a good question. Its a mindset. On the road weve had games where weve put it together and played pretty well, weve just got to do it at home." "I dont know the answer to be honest with you," he continued. "Were a hell of a team when we fight back but we cant let it get to that," said DeRozan, who again was exceptional in defeat; scoring 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting. "Weve got to be a team that plays a full, two halves of basketball." Even after showing up late, the Raptors had their opportunities thanks in large part to a renewed defensive focus that stymied Miamis free-flowing offence late in the game. Alas, Toronto turned the ball over 21 times - leading to 26 Heat points - and missed eight of ten fourth-quarter free throws. DeRozan and Gay, both 80 per cent free throw shooters on the season prior to Fridays game, connected on five of their 14 attempts from the stripe. "Thats everything," Gay said of the missed free throws. "To finish a game youve got to hit free throws and finish at the rim. It was tough for us to do either." Coming off a 3-for-12 performance on Tuesday - one that prompted a late-night shooting session - Gay was moderately better, scoring 21 points, however he needed 21 shots to do so. His inefficiency from the painted area persisted, especially late in the game, and his pair of missed free throws with a minute and a half left were crucial in defeat. The Raptors are still searching for an answer to Caseys conundrum. How do they put it all together? The Heat are and will continue to be the NBAs bench mark. Theyre more than an enormously talented team. On top of their talent they have developed an identity and chemistry as a team that is a joy to watch and almost impossible to stop. No matter how talented the team, the Heat know that what theyve been able to achieve does not come easy for anybody. "You cant cheat it," Wade preached. "I think the first year when we were together we tried to cheat it, we tried to say, lets do it right now and we got to the championship but when we got there we realized that the continuity that we really needed, when we really needed it, wasnt there." "We didnt have enough time to build it. So it takes time to build." Toronto has dropped 12 straight games to the Heat since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined forces with Wade and 13 straight contests to Miami overall. Up next The Raptors will conclude a season-long four game homestand on Sunday afternoon playing host to the Denver Nuggets, a game you can catch on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 1:00pm et. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . - Florida State has suspended Jameis Winston for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday, extending its initial punishment of one half after the quarterback made offensive and vulgar comments about female anatomy earlier this week. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . Pistorius denied the allegation that he said to the close friend of the girlfriend he killed: "How can you sleep at night?" The accusation by Kim Myers provided a bizarre twist during the trial of the world-famous double-amputee Olympian, who is facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for shooting dead Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, at his home last year. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ .com) - The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center. Custom NCAA Jerseys . Three days after falling to Hamilton, Abbotsford scored three goals in 53 seconds en route to a convincing 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in American Hockey League play. Fake NCAA Jerseys . The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign.MANCHESTER, England -- British police have released Australia rugby league fullback Billy Slater after he was arrested following a nightclub scuffle in Manchester. The Melbourne and Queensland representative player was out celebrating Australias third win of the Rugby League World Cup when he became involved in a scuffle early Monday. Australias team management says Slater was released without charge. A team statement says Slater was the victim, having been attacked as he returned to a nightclub to collect his jacket.dddddddddddd The statement says police reviewed video footage of the incident and found that Slater "acted in self-defence." The team says players were "free of official duties" as Australia prepares for Saturdays quarterfinal against the United States in the Welsh city of Wrexham. ' ' '