Derrick Jones Jr. throws down insane alley-oop in loss to Raptors
Derrick Jones Jr. may have scored just four points off the bench in the Miami Heat’s 125-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the American Airlines Arena, but the former NBA dunk contest runner-up reminded the league that he can throw down with the best of them.
Late in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, Jones and Bam Adebayo took off on a fast break after forcing a Raptors turnover. As they approached the rim, Adebayo tossed the ball up for Jones near the rim.
Jones then showed off his incredible ups. The 22-year-old expertly grabbed the ball with one hand and threw it into the rim to complete the alley-oop, easily marking one of the hardest-thrown dunks of the season.
Seriously, check out all of the angles. It only gets better.
DERRICK JONES JR. JUST JUMPED OUT OF HIS SHOES 🚀
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/DUSwQIBYYr— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) March 10, 2019
The Raptors, though, dominated throughout nearly the entire contest en route to the 21-point win in Miami. Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 24 points and 10 assists, and Pascal Siakam finished with 20 points. The Raptors were on fire from behind the 3-point line, too, hitting a franchise-record 21 treys. They outscored the Heat 63-24 from behind the arc.
Adebayo led the Heat with 19 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the field, and Dion Waiters added 15 points. Dwyane Wade finished with 15 points off the bench, shooting 7-of-12 from the field.
Kawhi Leonard didn’t play for the Raptors on Sunday due to “load management.” His absence, clearly, didn’t hinder Toronto at all. Leonard has yet to play in more than two consecutive games since Feb. 5, but the team is still 14-5 without him.
“We've kind of looked at it all the way through now, and I think there's maybe a few games yet that he's going to probably stay out,” coach Nick Nurse said, via the Associated Press. “We're just super happy with where we are with it. We kind of feel like we're ahead of the game.”
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