The Raptors are not going to win a lot of stylish games these days, not without the transition wizardry of RJ Barrett and not without the defensive rebounding talents of Jakob Poeltl to kick-start the offence.
But they are finding ways to grind out enough wins with good defence and an offence that, while it sputters, seems to somehow get it done when it's necessary.
That combination carried them again Tuesday in Miami as they got just enough scoring and a tremendous overall defensive game to register a 112-91 victory and put an end to a two-game losing streak.
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With Brandon Ingram having a rare quiet scoring game, the Raptors got 27 points from Scottie Barnes, 18 from Immanuel Quickley and 14 from Sandro Mamukelashvili -- including another four made threes -- to run their season record to 18-13.
And while there were moments when the offence bogged down -- the Raptors missed 13 straight three-point attempts in the first half -- the defence was tremendous all night.
And when the Raptors are getting stops and creating turnovers, it can cover up a lot of ills in a half-court offence that needs Barrett and Poeltl back from injury as soon as possible.
Defensively, the Raptors were able to quiet two of the central figures to Miami's offence, one that's in the top five in scoring around the league.
Toronto held ex-Raptor Norman Powell to 17 points on six-for-17 shooting and Bam Adebayo was four-for-11 from the field for just nine points. It was part of an excellent defensive effort against a team that relies on drive-and-kick offence that puts a premium on intense man-to-man coverage.
The Raptors stayed disciplined in their defensive game plan and the Heat had no answers as they fell to 15-15 on the season.
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Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles continues to make steady contributions, one of a few Raptors backups who can be counted on almost nightly.
The 20-year-old forward had his fourth straight good game on Tuesday with 11 points and 12 rebounds in about 25 minutes. It was his first double-double of the season.
He doesn't do a lot of things in a flashy fashion but his work ethic and energy are a huge plus off the bench for Toronto.
When the Raptors offence was struggling at its worst in parts of the second, Murray-Boyles made all three of his field goal attempts and grabbed six of his rebounds.
Barnes playing his game
Barnes led the Raptors in scoring and he rebounded from a ghastly season-low six points in Brooklyn on Sunday.
The reason wasn't hard to see.
Barnes attempted only one three-pointer and got to the free throw line for eight foul shots. In his seven previous games, 28 of his 100 field goal attempts were threes and he took 14 foul shots in total over seven games.
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When he's not settling for long-distance shots, his ability to get to the rim and fire passes out to teammates makes the Raptors offence exponentially better.
Barnes had four assists and eight rebounds to add to the tally.
Mogbo returns
Jonathan Mogbo was recalled from the G League Raptors 905 after a 14-game stint in the minors that got him some valuable live-game experience.
The six-foot-nine second-year forward averaged 14.8 points in his 14 G League games this season but most important to the NBA team may end up being his rebounding abilities.
He averaged nearly eight rebounds a game in the G League stint and that comparable effort at the NBA level could help the Raptors in the absence of Poeltl.
The other side of the matter is that there's hard to see a path to Mogbo playing much with the Raptors. He's behind Mamukelashvili and Murray-Boyles and will be further buried when Poeltl is healthy.
Raptors Raptors Insider: Why Jonathan Mogbo keeps finding himself with the 905 Doug Smith Home cooking
The Raptors finish a Christmas-interrupted road trip Friday in Washington and then get an extended stretch at home.
Seven of their nine games starting Sunday are at the Scotiabank Arena and included in that stretch are key Eastern Conference two-game series against Atlanta and Philadelphia.
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