Scotty Barnes added 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Chris Boutcher had 18 points and Gary Trent Jr. finished with 14 for the Raptors (46-33) in their 12th win in 15 games. Fred VanVleet had 12 points, while Precious Achiuwa had 11 points. With their victory and defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-115 in Orlando, the Raptors can not finish worse than the sixth in the East. Trae Young had 26 points to lead the Hawks (41-38), who saw their five-game winning streak complete. The Raptors will host playoff games at the Scotiabank Arena for the first time since the exciting run of the 2019 NBA Championship. The 2020 season ended in the Disneyworld bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Raptors were exiled to Tampa, Florida for next season due to restrictions on the Canada-US border and health and safety rules in Ontario. They did not enter the 2021 playoffs anyway, retreating to the Eastern Conference in March amid the COVID-19 epidemic to finish 12th. No team dominated the first three quarters of the battle. After a short lead of seven points in the first half, Bauser’s three-pointer with 2:28 remaining in the third gave the Raptors a nine-point cushion, their biggest lead at this point. They took an 89-83 lead in the fourth. Boucher was tied with three-pointers behind his back to start the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead – the first time both teams had climbed to double digits. But the Raptors got cold. Young followed his three-pointer with a layup to cover a 10-0 Hawks streak that tied the game at 102-102 with 4:29 to play. Barnes scored after a reversal and Van Wlit was connected from a long distance – just his second three-pointer in a horrific two-point three-to-12 shot – and Toronto rose five to 1:03 to play, increasing the crowd capacity 19,800 at its feet. Barnes put it in 22 seconds to play, running back to the field with his hand raised to win. Bogdan Bogdanovic withdrew a three-pointer, but it was too late for the Hawks, who were relegated to the play-offs with a defeat. The Raptors were missing from the key OG Anunoby for the second consecutive game with a thigh fracture. “Very improved, but still quite painful,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. The Raptors lost 114-109 to Kyle Lowry and the Miami Heat who broke their five-game winning streak. No team was ahead by more than seven points in the first half. Toronto took a five-yard lead in the first quarter, but Young’s jumper closed the Hawks’ 11-0 streak to put Atlanta at six. The Hawks led 31-27 to start the second. Achiuwa led the way for a huge dunk that brought the Raptors players off the bench and gave them six points. Shiakam’s shot at 9.7 seconds at halftime sent Toronto to the break with a 56-52 lead. The Raptors host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday in a playoff preview and then Houston on Friday. They end the regular season on Sunday against the Knicks in New York.
