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Heat head north to face the Raptors

Nov 5, 2013 - 3:22 PM (Sports Network) - The Miami Heat will head north of the border in search of their first road win Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

The Heat opened defense of its second straight title by disposing of Chicago at home, but dropped back-to-back road tilts in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The Heat got on track with Sunday's 103-93 home victory over the winless Washington Wizards, as LeBron James scored 25 points and Chris Bosh added 24.

Dwyane Wade netted 20 points for the Heat, who shot 52.9 percent from the field and later had a 23-point lead later in the contest. Miami also avoided its first three-game losing streak since January, 2012 and handed out a season-high 32 assists.

Miami also had four players with at least five assists. Mario Chalmers had the most with eight and also scored six points.

"The intensity was better and the consistent ball movement was better than it's been," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Wade said the bevy of assists made it easy for everybody on the team.

"You can feel it, and it's special when it happens," Wade told NBA.com. "It just makes the game so much easier."

Miami is 32-4 in the regular season since the previous All-Star break and James has scored in double-figures the last 499 games. That run includes a 221-game stretch as a member of the Heat. Hall of Famer and NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a streak of 508 consecutive games with 10-plus points. Michael Jordan tops the list at a ridiculous 866 games.

Following their trip to Canada, the Heat will return to south Florida for four straight games versus the Clippers, Celtics, Bucks and Mavericks.

Bosh is listed as questionable for personal reasons as Bosh and his wife welcomed the birth of a new baby daughter on Monday.

Toronto has won two of its first three games this season and recorded a 97-90 road triumph the last time out Saturday against Milwaukee.

The Raptors spoiled the Bucks' home opener and received 18 points from Rudy Gay, 17 out of DeMar DeRozan and 14 by Kyle Lowry, who's nursing an injured left ring finger tendon. Gay had a career-high 15 rebounds (13 defense) and led eight players with at least five boards.

"I'm just trying not to be one-dimensional," Gay said.

Toronto, which squandered a 12-point lead, had a 60-38 advantage on the glass and halted a 10-game losing streak to the Bucks. Milwaukee had won eight in a row as the host.

The Raptors started the month of November with three consecutive back-to-backs and will visit Charlotte and Indiana after hosting the Heat. Toronto and Miami will play four times this season. The last time Toronto played a reigning NBA champion four times was 2008-09 versus Boston.

Miami took all three meetings with Toronto last season and is riding an 11- game winning in this series. The Heat are 12-1 in the last 13 games against the Raptors, losers in five straight as the host to Miami.