TORONTO — What’s real? 

That’s what these last handful of games are about for teams like the Toronto Raptors, or the Miami Heat. 

Neither are on anyone’s long list as title contenders. They likely aren’t on anyone’s list of teams that could win a first-round playoff series. 

But they’re in the fight. And so how they respond matters. 

“I always tell my team, in those situations, you don't step up, you really sink to the level of your preparation,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “And I'm very confident in our preparation, and all the work that we're putting in over the course of the summer and whole season to be in this position. This is what we wanted, right? We wanted to be fighting for the playoffs and to play meaningful games. They have a saying in Italy, 'You always wanted to ride a bicycle, and finally you have a bicycle, now you have to turn the pedals.' You’ve got to enjoy the moment.”

Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena was a moment worth savouring then. The Raptors pedalled that bike like the wind was at their collective backs as they jumped all over the Heat for a surprisingly comfortable 121-95 win that was never really in doubt. 

The Raptors (44-35) won the first three quarters and took an 18-point lead into the fourth, which doesn’t always guarantee much, given the Raptors are one of the worst fourth-quarter performers in the league this season. 

Not against the 10th-place Heat (41-38), though. The Raptors pushed the lead to 24 midway through the fourth on a triple by Ja’Kobe Walter and coasted home. 

The win gave Toronto a one-game advantage over the Philadelphia 76ers for 6th place in the Eastern Conference with three games to play. Toronto hasn’t been in a playoff series since Scottie Barnes' rookie season in 2021-22.

They get a chance to improve to 4-0 against Miami on the season and further cement their hold on the last playoff spot in the East – and avoid having to qualify for the 7th or 8th seed in the play-in tournament – when the two teams meet again on Thursday in Toronto. 

Immanuel Quickley – who played 18 minutes after missing nine games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot – spoke up in the Raptors locker room after the win and made the point that the two games are like a playoff series in that winning one game in whatever fashion has no impact on what may or may not happen in the next. 

But the Raptors can take some comfort in that they seem to have the right game plan or the right personnel to manage Miami. The Heat have been held under 100 points six times this season, three of those........

© Sportsnet