TORONTO _ It was an afternoon that left the Miami Heat confused, and for more than the 117-109 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors that left their playoff hopes on life support.
Desperately fighting to keep their postseason chances alive, the Heat left Scotiabank Center perplexed by a sequence at the end of regulation that left them with nothing more than a wayward 25-foot James Johnson jumper.
"This," a visibly angered Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, "is going to have to be explained to me. I will probably, forever, have to agree to disagree."
Despite blowing the whistle to signal the start of play with 10.1 seconds to play in the fourth quarter in a 103-103 tie, referee Eric Lewis did not hand the ball to inbounder Dion Waiters.
Instead, the Raptors got a read on the Heat play, set up for Dwyane Wade.
"From our vantage point, that was a botched play," Spoelstra said, insisting Lewis should have then paused again, to reset the situation before handing the ball Waiters.
"He looked down there at Spo," Waiters said. "We never called a timeout or anything, so why's he looking down there?"
By then, Spoelstra knew the timing was off.
"I'm calling timeout," he said. "But on that side of the court, the only way to do that is to run into the play to get anybody's intention. And I didn't do that and I regret that.
"I'm killing myself for not running into the free-throw line, into everybody's vision, to call that timeout. It's just one of those in-explainable things."
Heat center Bam Adebayo secured the rebound of Johnson's miss with six-tenths of a second to play in regulation, but his putback basket was ruled too late, confirmed by video replay.
From there, the Raptors seized control in overtime, Spoelstra left without answer from the officiating crew.
"Nothing that's coherent or makes sense," he said. "They'll just probably levy a fine on me. I don't care."
With the loss, the Heat faced the possibility of being eliminated from playoff contention later Sunday if the Brooklyn Nets won in Indiana and the Detroit Pistons defeated the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
"These hurt," Wade said.
Up 13 early and ahead at the end of each of the first three quarters, the Heat fell to 38-42, assuring the first losing season since 2014-15.
"We've been in a lot of these games throughout the year and we just haven't been able to make enough plays," forward Justise Winslow said.
Wade led the Heat with 21 points, supported by 18 from Johnson. Kawhi Leonard scored 22 for the Raptors, with Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam and Danny Green offering ample support.
The Heat led 26-25 at the end of the opening period, 57-50 at halftime and 79-78 going into the fourth quarter.
