TORONTO -- As the Big Three's fascinating first season together drew to a five-day pause Wednesday night it was appropriate that anger, arrogance, hostility and perseverance defined the moment.
Yes, the Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 103-95 the night of Chris Bosh's return to his scorned former city. But it was the mood of the men who made the win happen that spoke the loudest.
"You know we are human, and people that supported you so long — the town that supported you for so long, just to hear some of that stuff, it makes you upset," Bosh said after the win. "I just tried to channel that into the game, use that anger as aggression. And just help my team win."
He did, racking up 25 points and six rebounds on a night when he both tried too hard to, and yet succeeded in, showing Toronto fans just what they're missing.
So did his so-called brothers. In the fourth quarter, Bosh forced shots and failed to score on 0-for-4 shooting as he tried desperately to beat the Raptors all by himself. In that faltering stretch, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade stepped up, combining for 17 points and eight rebounds in an effort that put the game away and preserved Bosh's vengeance.
The final stat line read Bosh with his 25 points, Wade with 28 and LeBron with 23. A Big Three indeed.
The postgame, though, was where the real interesting insights unfurled. Whereas this experiment began in a November pressure cooker the Heat couldn't handle, this February night was a testament to teammates enjoying each other's presence and reveling in what they believe they can do.
And, yes, it offered more glimpses into the arrogance that started all the hate in the first place.
Said LeBron after being asked if he was surprised by the crowd's hostility toward Bosh: "Fans are passionate. They believe that you should live your life and your career through them and when you don't do that they automatically turn. I know that first hand."
Yeah, that. Or else when you go on live television and announce you're breaking a city's heart in a spectacle of self-indulgence.
Definitely one of the two.
And then Wade, asked about the fact Toronto fans cheered for him, transitioned to a putdown of his own: "Not saying anything about Toronto, but this wasn't a focal point of mine," he said, cracking up. "I wasn't coming here. And not saying nothing about Cleveland, I wasn't going there neither."
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
And yet, for Heat fans, this was good arrogance. This was gold. Because whereas these three stars couldn't handle their own chutzpah a few months ago, now they've learned to embrace it. To feed off it. To be the comfortable-in-their-own-skins villains they should have been from the very start.
They laughed at their jokes. They clearly liked each other, a marked change from November, without an ounce of worry about the harsh feelings all around them. LeBron took the time to mock a local reporter's sweater. Wade was very impressed with his sense of humor.
Two-thirds of the way through this season, just days after Boston made them feel weak and inferior, the swagger is back.
Even Bosh had it, heading onto the court after the game, turning to the four sides of the crowd like a boxer and holding up his arms each time. Twice he blew kisses.
The crowd booed. Some cheered. Several saw the act as Bosh mocking his former city. Some saw it as love.
Turns out, at best, it was both.
"I miss them and I love them so much," he deadpanned when asked about the gesture.
That some sarcasm, Chris?
"What does sarcasm mean?"
He paused. Enjoyed the moment.
"It's a sarcastic one to all the naysayers and it's real to all the good supporters," Bosh said. "People are going to take it the way they want to. The most important thing is the win tonight."
No, the most important thing was the fact The Big Three like each other, play well together, and feel comfortable enough in their roles as villains to act like it even if they're not intending to.
Part of what makes the Celtics so formidable is their not-nice-guy vibe that impacts their play and their edge.
Good to see the Heat adopting their own arrogance-inspired tenor.
But, yes, the win was good too.
For most of the season, the Heat have beaten bad teams, and at 15-41 that's clearly what the Raptors are.
And so in typical fashion, Miami's bench responded to the less-than-impossible task the Raptors presented. Mario Chalmers had perhaps his best game of the year, notching six assists, five points and no turnovers in 28 minutes of fine play at the point. Erick Dampier was given almost the same amount of playing time and responded with 10 rebounds and eight points and what Spoelstra called "a presence" on the floor.
Still, it was Bosh's return and how Wade and LeBron rallied around him during it that was most telling.
This is not the Cleveland Catalyst of Dec. 2, the take-no-prisoners turning point that brought the team together.
Maybe, though, it can be the Raptors Revival -- the game where the Heat started to get their swagger and cockiness back less than a week after Boston played like garbage and still abused Miami's self-confidence.
Raptors fans can't be blamed for booing Bosh's kisses to all those naysayers from their home floor.
And Heat fans can't be blamed for hoping, after seeing such an act of pride, that there's some real tough-guy in him after all.
You can follow Bill Reiter on Twitter.
